FIFA chief referee Collina praises the new World Cup rules: "Very effective"

 Pierluigi Collina, head of referees at FIFA, said several new rules at the World Cup have worked so far. The Italian refers primarily to actions aimed at combating the extension of playing time. Collina, 66, heads FIFA's refereeing committee and on Tuesday provided an update on the regulations introduced through the official channels of the world football federation. "The five-second limit for players to take a goal kick or throw-in, ten seconds to leave the pitch in the event of a substitution and one minute off the pitch after an injury: all these rules have proven to be very effective and are unanimously considered to be very positive innovations," said the Italian. "They are generally respected. In 72 group games, only one substituted player failed to comply with the ten-second rule. The five-second limit was exceeded four times for goal kicks, after which a corner was awarded to the opposing team, and eleven times for throw-ins, after which the decision was reversed and awarded to the opposing team. The number of injuries on the pitch has dropped dramatically and there are very few cases where medical staff have had to enter the pitch," Collina added. Also, the overall behavior on the pitch has been very good so far, with only two yellow cards for protesting against refereeing decisions for players and two for coaches. Of the six-tenths of red cards shown so far, five were for preventing an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and only one was for covering his mouth with his hand while confronting an opponent, Collina explained. Paraguayan Miguel Almirón received a red card, among others, who was given a red card during the group match against Turkey for saying something to an opponent from behind while covering his mouth with his hand. Former top referee Collina also added that national team coaches and players were informed before the start of the World Cup that referees were instructed "not to penalize football contacts that are normal in the game." "Referees and VAR should carefully analyze the incidents and intervene when an offensive player is not interested in the ball and has a clear intention to block an opponent. This should especially apply to situations when such tactics are intended to prevent the opposing goalkeeper from defending the goal. Coaches and players have been informed about this, so it should not be a surprise to them when such situations are punished by the referees," Collina added. With this last statement, Collina is most likely referring to the protests from Germany after Jonathan Tha's goal was canceled in the round of 16 match against Paraguay. Before Tha scored, Waldemar Anton allegedly illegally blocked the opposing team's goalkeeper. Paraguay then won the match on penalties and advanced to the quarter-finals. --- ## Related Articles 1. [2026 World Cup](https://bolanesiasports.com/id/news/cara-menonton-piala-dunia-hari-ini-jadwal-waktu-tv-dan-streaming-untuk-inggris-as-dan-lainnya) 2. [Jordan Pickford's Stellar World Cup Clean Sheet Record](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/jordan-pickfords-stellar-world-cup-clean-sheet-record)