La Liga officially announced a new set of refereeing rule changes that will come into effect in all tiers of Spanish soccer from the start of the 2026–27 season.
Refereeing in La Liga has been one of the main talking points across Spanish soccer’s landscape, particularly when it comes to the two biggest clubs in the country: Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Los Blancos have had a public vendetta against La Liga’s referees in recent years that has only intensified since the Negreira case—allegations of Barcelona bribing former vice president of Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) José María Enríquez Negreira—came to light.
Still, both clubs have had their fair share of spats with Spain’s refereeing decisions, with allegations of favoritism towards their arch-rivals. Inconsistencies in decision making has become synonymous with La Liga’s refereeing in recent times, but the hope is that a new set of rule changes improves refereeing standards.
CTA officially announced the new refereeing rules that will come into play next season, with many soccer fans already familiar with the majority of them.
La Liga Adopts Rule Introduced at 2026 World Cup
The biggest changes to La Liga’s refereeing guidelines center around time wasting in a variety of ways. The majority of this changes were first implemented during the 2026 World Cup, and La Liga has decided to adopt them.
Every player that has to receive medical treatment on the pitch will be forced to spend one minute on the sideline before he can return to the action—unless it’s a goalkeeper injury, a head collision between multiple players or after a foul that’s sanctioned with a yellow or red card.
Speaking of goalkeepers, if a shot-stopper receives medical treatment on the pitch, causing a stoppage in play following an action that’s wasn’t sanctioned as a foul, the team manager will have to pick a player to exit the pitch for one minute once play is resumed. This measure is a new innovation by CTA that will be trialed and is backed by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
Furthermore, as introduced during the 2026 World Cup, players who are substituted have 10 seconds to leave the pitch, or else their replacement will be forced to wait one minute on the sidelines before entering the game.
If a team takes to long to restart a game from a set-piece, the referee will begin a five second countdown and if play hasn’t resumed by the end of it, possession will be given to the opposition.
La Liga Will Rely More on VAR
VAR will become even more prominent in La Liga, with referees now able to use the technology to correct a number of decisions—like in the 2026 World Cup.
Mistaken identity, when a referee punishes the wrong player with a yellow or red card, is now reviewable by VAR. However, VAR will be able to review only the identity of the player, not the original, on-field foul decision, which is different to how it was implemented during the World Cup. In this scenario, Switzerland’s Breel Embolo would not have received a second yellow card in the World Cup quarterfinal vs. Argentina.
As was the case in the World Cup, VAR will now automatically review every corner and switch the decision to a goal-kick whenever there’s clear evidence that the referee made the wrong call initially.
Vinicius Junior Rule Adopted By La Liga—With a Catch
One of the biggest rule changes introduced at the 2026 World Cup came as a direct reaction to the now infamous incident where Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior stated he was victim of racial abuse by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. The Argentine covered his mouth when the alleged attack took place, murkying the situation and turning it into a he-said-she-said.
To avoid such situation happening, players who covered their mouth when talking to an opponent were automatically shown a red card during the 2026 World Cup—as Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón and Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié found out.
La Liga will introduce this rule as well, but not as aggressively. Only if a player is covering his mouth while having during a clear confrontation with an opponent or protesting with a referee to deliberately hide what he’s saying will there be an intervention. However, CTA won’t punish this action with a red card, but a yellow card could be shown.
Other Significant 2026–27 La Liga Rule Changes
Among other notable rule changes La Liga has introduced, one relates specifically to goal-kicks. If an outfield player touches the ball with his hands after the goalkeeper settled it and passed it—despite it not leaving the six-yard box—a penalty will be awarded to the opposite team.
Barcelona famously sent a formal complaint to UEFA during last season’s Champions League quarterfinals after Atlético Madrid defender Marc Pubill touched the ball with his hands after goalkeeper Juan Musso had passed it to him. The referee allowed Atléti to retake the goal-kick, much to Barcelona and Hansi Flick’s fury.
Another new rule states that if a player accidentally "double-kicks” a penalty (touches it multiple times) then the penalty will be retaken if it’s a goal. If the double kick leads to a miss or a save, then the penalty won’t be retaken.
Julian Álvarez famously double-kicked a penalty for Atlético in a shootout vs. Real Madrid in the 2024–25 Champions League round of 16. Álvarez scored from the spot, but because of the double-kick, his effort was deemed a miss. Under La Liga’s new rules, Álvarez would’ve been able to retake the penalty. Had he missed, though, he wouldn’t have had another opportunity.
Finally, as is the case in many league around the world and as happened in the 2026 World Cup, La Liga referees will now have to explain their decisions after a VAR check to the public by turning on a microphone and announcing the decision.
READ THE LATEST LA LIGA NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
READ THE LATEST LA LIGA NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
- Real Madrid Risk it All With ‘Record-Breaking Agreement’ for Yan Diomande
- Vinicius Junior Breaks Silence on Real Madrid Future Amid Arsenal Interest
- Transfer Rumors: Man Utd’s $170 Million Real Madrid Raid; Yamal Eyes World Cup Star
- Six Players Real Madrid Could Sell to Complete Their Transfer Plans
