Shearer's Proposal During Spain vs Argentina Final
Alan Shearer called for a rule change during the World Cup final to combat grappling at corner kicks. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 on Sunday to clinch the trophy for the second time in their history. The new world champions dominated the game but had to wait until the 106th minute for Ferran Torres to break the deadlock in extra time. Argentina did not have a shot at goal until the 117th minute as Lionel Scaloni’s side looked to edge their way to victory.
Incident That Sparked the Call
The 2022 World Cup winners committed 24 fouls to Spain’s 21 across the match, but former England captain Shearer took issue with one offence that was not officially deemed a foul. The incident came in the build-up to a Spanish corner, taken by Nico Williams in the 78th minute. As Williams delivered his cross, referee Slavko Vincic blew his whistle to warn Argentina defender Facundo Medina about fouling Spain players before the ball was in play. This did not sit well with Shearer, who was on TV commentary for BBC Sport, and the Newcastle United legend shared his idea to fix the issue.
“This is what I mean about referees, they’re the biggest time-wasters of the lot,” Shearer said. “If that ball was in play once it’s put on to the grass [quadrant] then that would stop that entirely.”
Current Rules and IFAB Clarification
The subsequent corner from Williams sailed over his teammate Pau Cubarsi’s head, but Shearer highlighted a loophole for defensive teams at corners. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) allowed FIFA to use VAR reviews for attacking fouls at set pieces if they directly led to a goal, penalty or disciplinary action. Following a review, the set piece would then be retaken as free-kicks cannot be awarded for incidents which occur when the ball is not technically in play. Therefore, the same rules were applied to defensive offences, as a penalty cannot be awarded to the attacking team.
In May, ahead of the World Cup, an IFAB statement read: "The IFAB has approved a clarification to the video assistant referee protocol for use at the 2026 FIFA World Cup regarding clear offences committed by the attacking team before the ball is in play at a corner kick or free kick that have a direct impact on a goal, penalty kick, or disciplinary sanction. If the offence meets the criteria set out in the clarification, VAR will recommend an on-field review, following which, if the referee determines that an offence occurred before the ball was in play, the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken and the corner kick or free kick will be retaken."
An example cited by Pierluigi Collina, now FIFA's chief refereeing officer and chairman of the FIFA referees committee, was Ben White's goal for England against Uruguay in March. Adam Wharton blocked a defender’s path before the corner had been taken but the referee was unable to disallow the goal.
Future Review and Technology
The rule change for attacking fouls at set pieces is due to be reviewed by IFAB following the conclusion of the World Cup. VAR teams were also given the remit to ensure corners were correctly awarded, aided by new technology, but this was not applied to wrongly awarded goal kicks that should have been corners.
