Football's lawmakers are considering a rule change that would allow tournaments to run their own trials of new regulations, potentially enabling the use of VAR to adjudicate on corner kicks at the 2026 World Cup. The International Football Association Board (Ifab) is exploring short-term trials as an alternative to the current system, where major tournaments typically adopt measures only after they have been tested in minor leagues or competitions.
If approved, the 48-team World Cup next summer could be the first to trial VAR for corners, using technology to determine whether the ball fully crossed the line or which team last touched it. There is support within Ifab for this move, which is seen as a safety net to prevent incorrectly awarded set pieces from influencing crucial matches, such as the World Cup final.
Ifab has been discussing extending VAR's reach this year, with growing appetite for the system to handle fact-based decisions like whether a ball was out of play before a corner. However, concerns remain about adding further delays to the game. Discussions have also included using VAR to review inaccurately awarded second yellow cards, but this has proven challenging due to the subjective nature of such decisions.
Any trial would not require rewriting VAR protocols and would not be carried over into other competitions like the Premier League. Changes allowing bespoke trials must be approved at Ifab's annual general meeting in March. Fifa has shown enthusiasm for new technology, having introduced semi-automated offside at the 2022 World Cup and bodycams on referees at the Club World Cup last summer.
