La Liga officially approves refereeing shake-up for 2026/27 season

La Liga has confirmed a new set of refereeing measures for the 2026/27 season, with the focus firmly on cutting time-wasting and making video review decisions easier to understand. Match officials will now be allowed to announce their final decision over the stadium microphone after consulting the VAR monitor. The video assistant referee system is also being given a wider remit: it can intervene to check a potential second yellow card, cases where the wrong player has been shown a red card, and incorrectly awarded corners. The league is introducing strict limits on stoppages. A substituted player will have ten seconds to leave the pitch. If he is too slow, the incoming player has to wait up to a minute before entering the game, meaning his team will play with one less player during that window. Outfield players receiving treatment on the pitch will generally have to stay off it for one minute before being allowed back on. There is a special goalkeeper clause: if a keeper stops play to receive treatment and no foul has been committed against him, one of his outfield teammates must leave the pitch for one minute. Restarts will also be policed with a five-second countdown. The new protocol includes a penalty clarification. If a taker accidentally touches the ball twice - for example, after slipping and striking it with the standing foot - and the ball goes in, the kick will be retaken. If no goal is scored, the penalty is considered missed with no retake. The changes are designed to make matches more fluid, give fans greater clarity and close off the tactical tricks teams use to protect a lead. It was previously announced that the 2026/27 La Liga season will begin on August 14.