Canada-Bosnia makes World Cup law change reality for the first time

At the 2026 World Cup, a new rule in football’s laws was enforced for the first time during Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia on Friday, in the tournament’s third match. The game featured one of the first real tests of changes approved before the World Cup and, until then, seen only on paper.

In the 57th minute, Bosnia were supposed to take a throw-in but lost possession, which triggered the new sanction. Under the rule, if a team delays a throw-in, the referee counts five seconds with a hand signal, and if that team still does not restart play, the opponents receive the throw-in from the same spot.

The player who entered the rulebook’s history was Sead Kolašinac, who had assisted Bosnia’s goal and was also responsible for conceding the Canadian goal after clearing the ball off the goal line. The throw-in was in Canada’s half, so Bosnia also lost a chance to keep the ball deep in the opposition side.

Substitute Cyle Larin equalized about 20 minutes later, and the match ended 1-1. The article noted that this is only one of the first new rules being tested in practice, alongside harsher punishments for serious time-wasting, including one-minute spells with 10 players and, if a goalkeeper wastes time, even a corner kick. The biggest change so far is mandatory water breaks in every match, regardless of weather, for sporting fairness.