The 2023 Women’s World Cup will showcase 32 of the greatest clubs around the world, and with that comes intense competition. There’s no doubt tiebreakers are inevitable, so FIFA constructed a system to resolve such issues, the last of which is the fair play rule.
Let’s take a look at what this rule means for the game before matches kick off in Australia and New Zealand:
What is the fair play rule?
FIFA’s fair play rule is a relatively new tiebreaker rule implemented in the group stage of the World Cup.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
The rule was placed for the first time in the 2018 men’s World Cup. Fair play was implemented for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, though the group stage worked differently since that tournament only featured 24 teams. With 32 teams now in the Women’s World Cup, the fair play rule will be used the exact same way it has been in the men’s tournament.
In the group stage, teams play three games. FIFA created a system of tiebreakers to be carried out when both teams are equal on points, goal difference and number of goals scored in the group stage. The final tiebreaker would be based on the number of yellow and red cards administered to each team throughout the group stage.
How does the fair play rule affect points in World Cup matches?
These are the point deductions according to the fair play system:
Yellow cards: -1
Indirect red card: -3 (as a result of a second yellow card)
Direct red card: -4
Yellow card and direct red card: -5 (with only one of the deductions applied to a player in a single game)
Whichever team has fewer fair play points deducted is given the tiebreaker.
If two teams finish even in fair play points, then lots will be drawn via random selection to determine which team advances.
Where do fair play rules apply?
Fair play rules are used in the group stage of the World Cup.
A player who receives a yellow card in two separate matches will also receive a one-game suspension.
The card count is carried throughout the group stage and into the knockout round. The count is reset before the semifinals.
When was the fair play rule applied at a World Cup?
The fair play rule was used during the 2018 World Cup when Japan and Senegal were tied after three group games. They had the same points (4), goal differential (0) and goals scored (4), and the two sides played a 2-2 draw in their head-to-head-match.
The next way for FIFA to determine who would enter the round of 16, was to use the fair play rule. In doing so, Senegal, which had two more yellow cards during group play than Japan did, became the first team to ever be eliminated from a World Cup tournament due to a fair play tiebreaker.
The fair play rule has not yet been utilized at the Women’s World Cup.
