FIFA rule change leads to Norway goal being ruled out right after it was scored against England
New FIFA World Cup rules were in action during the Norway vs England game, leaving Harry Kane and the England team a bit puzzled.
The 2026 World Cup brought in lots of new rules this time. Some of them have worked really well, while others have caused quite a stir.
For example, small changes to stop time-wasting and poor sportsmanship have been great, making the game faster—though hydration breaks do pause the flow sometimes. But other new rules, like giving red cards for players covering their mouths, have been controversial. In fact, UEFA decided not to use that rule next season after two players got sent off this tournament.
There was even some unusual legal stuff behind the scenes, like when Donald Trump and US lawyers helped get Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned!
During the England vs Norway match, one of the new rules was used for the first time, and even captain Harry Kane looked surprised. Late in the game, Norway scored what looked like a 2-1 goal after a scramble at a corner. But VAR checked carefully and saw that Erling Braut-Haaland had fouled Elliot Anderson in the mix, so England got a lucky break.
What confused Kane most was how the game restarted. Even though the foul happened, Norway got to retake the corner instead of England getting a free-kick. Kane asked the referee about it but didn’t get a clear answer.
Here’s the new rule: if a foul happens before the corner kick is taken, there’s no punishment—you just retake the corner. This rule is meant to stop all the grabbing and holding that often happens in crowded penalty areas, something we’ve noticed a lot in the Premier League this season.
VAR is still used to check for “clear and obvious errors,” like in Norway’s goal situation.
These rule changes have been pretty divisive. FIFA even thought about changing some rules during the tournament, including how penalty shootouts start. They wanted to make the coin toss fairer, so teams wouldn’t get unlucky or lucky twice in a row.
With England making it far into the knockout rounds, these new rules will keep challenging their focus—especially after close VAR calls in games against Mexico and Norway.