FIFA Says Match Tempo, and Limiting Time-Wasting, Will Be Point of Emphasis at World Cup

FIFA Says Match Tempo, and Limiting Time-Wasting, Will Be Point of Emphasis at World Cup
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, on Dec. 13, 2022. Petr David Josek/AP Photo
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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.