World Cup 2026: How many games do players miss for a red card and how many have there been?
WORLD CUP 2026 will be the biggest in the tournament’s history, and promises some huge rule changes too. 48 teams will compete for the sport’s biggest trophy across North America this year, 16 more than the Qatar tournament four years ago. WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS Referees at the festival of football will be under more pressure than ever with the new rules adopted by FIFA. SunSport brings you all the details on red cards at the World Cup this summer. How many games do players miss for a red card? If a player is sent off at any point of the tournament, they will miss their nation’s next match. However, FIFA holds the right to extend the ban or add any other sanctions to the ban if they deem necessary. READ MORE IN WORLD CUP 2026 This is similar to the Premier League where dangerous fouls can be given longer punishments. Any player who sees red in their nation’s final match of the competition will have to miss the next official match. For example, if someone is sent off in the World Cup final, the player will have to miss the next friendly or qualifier the nation plays after the tournament. Players can now also be sent off for two controversial new reasons, including covering your mouth with your shirt and leaving the pitch in protest at a referee’s decision. Most read in Sport FOLLOW all the build-up to next summer’s World Cup right here including England updates, ticket news and Donald Trump’s latest plans. How many red cards have there been at the World Cup 2026? There have been 14 red cards at the World Cup so far. And the first three all came in the first match – two South African players got sent off and one Mexican player. - Spheoheki Sithole – SOUTH AFRICA vs Mexico (fouling as the last man) - Themba Zwane – SOUTH AFRICA vs Mexico (violent conduct) - Cesar Montes – MEXICO vs South Africa (violent conduct) - Tarik Muharemovic – BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA vs Switzerland (fouling as the last man) - Homam Elamin – QATAR vs Canada (fouling as the last man) - Assim Madibo – QATAR vs Canada (serious foul play) - Miguel Almiron – PARAGUAY vs Turkey (covering his mouth) - Nathan Ngoy – BELGIUM vs Iran (fouling as the last man) - Rebin Sulaka – IRAQ vs Senegal - Agustin Canobbio – URUGUAY vs Spain - Piero Hincapie – ECUADOR vs Mexico (covering his mouth) - Folarin Balogun – USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina - Jarell Quansah – ENGLAND vs Mexico - Breel Embolo – Argentina vs SWITZERLAND (mistaken identitiy)