Alan Shearer, the former England captain and Newcastle United legend, has called for a rule change during the World Cup final to address grappling at corner kicks. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday, 20 July 2026, to lift the trophy for the second time in their history. Ferran Torres scored the only goal in the 106th minute, while Argentina failed to register a shot until the 117th minute.
Shearer's Criticism of Referee's Time-Wasting
During his commentary for BBC Sport, Shearer took exception to an incident in the 78th minute when referee Slavko Vincic stopped play before a Spanish corner to caution Argentina defender Facundo Medina about fouling. Shearer argued that referees are the biggest time-wasters and proposed that the ball should be considered in play once placed in the corner quadrant. "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."
IFAB's VAR Protocol for Set Pieces
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) had already permitted FIFA to use VAR reviews for attacking fouls at set pieces that directly result in a goal, penalty, or disciplinary action. Under this protocol, if a goal is scored but an attacking foul occurs before the ball is in play, the goal can be disallowed and the set piece retaken. However, the same rules apply to defensive offences, meaning a penalty cannot be awarded for a foul before the ball is in play. Shearer pointed out this loophole, as the subsequent corner from Nico Williams flew over Pau Cubarsi's head without incident.
An IFAB statement from May 2026 clarified: "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."
Impact on the Match and Future Reviews
Argentina were penalised 24 times compared to Spain's 21 during the match, but Shearer's focus was on the pre-corner grappling that went unpunished. Pierluigi Collina, FIFA's chief refereeing officer, cited Ben White's goal for England against Uruguay in March as an example where an attacking foul before the corner was not reviewed. The rule change for attacking fouls at set pieces is due to be reviewed by IFAB after the World Cup. VAR teams were also tasked with ensuring corners were correctly awarded using new technology, though this did not apply to incorrectly awarded goal kicks.
