The KNVB will introduce three new laws of the game from the 2026/27 season to combat time-wasting and increase effective playing time. Those changes will be used for the first time on Sunday in the battle for the Johan Cruyff Shield between league champions PSV and cup winners AZ. That also brings in a number of rules first introduced at the last World Cup.
Among the most eye-catching changes is a visible five-second rule for goal-kicks and throw-ins. Referees will now count down from five seconds before the ball must be back in play.
If a player fails to restart play within that time, the punishment will be immediate. A goal-kick will become a corner for the opposition, while a throw-in will go to the other team.
Substitutions will be policed more strictly too. Players being taken off must leave the pitch within ten seconds by the shortest route. If they do not, the substitute must wait at least one minute and can only enter the pitch at the next stoppage in play.
The KNVB also want to crack down on feigned injuries. Players treated on the pitch must stay off the field for at least one minute after play restarts before they are allowed back on.
There are some exceptions. Goalkeepers do not have to leave the pitch after treatment. Nor do players injured by a foul that brings a yellow or red card for the opposition. The same applies when two players from the same team are treated at the same time or when there is a serious injury.
Off the pitch, plenty is changing as well. The VAR will also have additional powers from this season. For example, the video assistant referee can correct an incorrectly awarded corner into a goal-kick, as long as that happens before play restarts. The reverse is not possible: an incorrect goal-kick cannot be changed into a corner by the VAR.
On top of that, the VAR can intervene when a second yellow card is wrongly given and therefore leads to a red card. The video assistant referee can also alert the referee to cases of mistaken identity, when the wrong player receives a yellow or red card. In those situations, only the identity of the punished player is corrected, while the assessment of the foul itself remains unchanged.