FIFA's on-field officials for the World Cup will insist on keeping matches moving by taking rule changes designed to limit time-wasting seriously, the sport's governing body said Sunday with the start of the 48-team tournament now less than two weeks away.
Also among the points of emphasis for referees and officials: a commitment to issuing red cards to any player who covers his mouth while talking to an opponent in a “confrontational situation," FIFA said.
“We are continuing on trying to achieve an objective, which is to eliminate from matches — as much as possible — the disruption of the tempo of the match," said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA chief refereeing officer and chair of the referees committee.
Other issues that referees will be mindful of during the tournament:
— If a player leaves the field of play after being angered by an official's decision, a red card can be issued.
— To speed up play, referees can institute a five-second visual countdown on goal kicks and throw-ins. If the goal kick is not taken before the end of that countdown, a corner kick will be awarded to the opposing team. If the throw-in is not executed by the end of the five-second count, a throw-in for the opponents will be the reward. It's along the same lines of the so-called eight-second goalkeeper rule that has been in place for some time to release the ball after making a save.
— Players getting subbed off must leave the field within 10 seconds, except for special situations such as ones involving injuries or a security issue.
— The protocol for Video Assistant Referee, or VAR, is being clarified in certain areas. VAR can be used to check when red cards are issued following a clearly incorrect second yellow card, or when cards are issued in the case of mistaken identity. Incorrectly awarded corner kicks can also be checked by VAR, FIFA said.
Players covering their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt will be given red cards if referees deem it not to be a friendly conversation, FIFA said. Conversations that are not confrontational but still have players shielding their mouths from public view will continue to be permitted without penalty.
“Confrontational ... a completely different story,” Collina said.
There has also been a clarification on VAR protocol “regarding clear offenses committed by the attacking team before the ball is in play at a corner kick or free kick” that directly impacts goals, penalty kicks or sanctions.
VAR can be used in those moments and “if the referee determines that an offense occurred before the ball was in play, the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”
But all the emphasis on speedy play won't necessarily mean quicker matches. There will be three-minute water breaks midway through each half of every match, FIFA said.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
FILE - Referee Szymon Marciniak, of Poland, shows a yellow card to Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez during the penalty shootout inthe World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
FILE - Referee Daniele Orsato talks to Argentina's Lionel Messi, left, during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Argentina and Croatia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Dec. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, file)
CAIRO (AP) — A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The ministry identified him as 26-year-old Imad Haroun Ishtayeh from the village of Salem, east of Nablus. It said Israeli forces shot him in a thigh in al-Ram town, and he was pronounced dead at the Palestinian Medical Complex in Ramallah.
Footage circulating online showed people carrying his body and climbing down a ladder that had been placed against the wire-topped barrier, while traffic continued to roll by and a horn blared.
Israeli police said the man tried to unlawfully enter Israel by crossing the barrier.
Ishtayeh was attempting to cross from the West Bank to Israel. Many people have been shot trying to cross the barrier, including a 44-year-old father who was killed earlier this month.
Ishtayeh previously ran a poultry slaughterhouse in his home village of Salem, financially supporting his ill father. But business deteriorated as an economic crisis hit the West Bank and he decided to cross into Israel in search of a job, a relative, Nasser Ishtayeh, told The Associated Press.
On his first attempt on Saturday, Israeli security was tight, the relative said. After spending the night with other Palestinians hoping to cross into Israel, Haroun Ishtayeh tried again on Sunday morning and was shot.
“He was directly shot with live bullets and died at the hospital,” Nasser Ishtayeh said.
An increasing number of Palestinians from the West Bank have tried to enter Israel illegally to work in recent years. Tens of thousands of Palestinians had held Israeli work permits, but access was sharply restricted after the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza.
Since then, unemployment in the West Bank has surged amid an economic slowdown. And around 50 workers have been killed by Israeli fire, with over 38,000 arrested though many were later released, the Palestinian official WAFA news agency reported Sunday, citing the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions.
Two Palestinians were killed and at least 10 injured when a group of people was struck near the port in Gaza City, according to Shifa hospital, which received the casualties. There was no immediate comment from Israel's military.
A fragile ceasefire remains in place between Israel and the militant Palestinian Hamas group in Gaza.
And in the West Bank, emergency responders said a 17-year-old Israeli girl was in serious condition and a 15-year-old teen also was hurt in what police described as a ramming attack near a bus stop at Gush Etzion Junction.
Israel's military said a soldier “eliminated the terrorist on site.” It also said a third Israeli civilian was hurt.
A previous version of this story corrected the spelling of the village of Salem.
Sabah Ishtayeh, center, mother of of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, cries during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Mourners take the last look at the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Sabah Ishtayeh, center, mother of of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, cries during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Mourners take the last look at the body of Palestinian Imad Haroun Ishtayeh, 26, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Sunday at a concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, during his funeral in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
