June 25 – FIFA is hoping to change the rules on penalty shootouts in time for the World Cup knockout stages. 

The proposed change, awaiting approval from lawmakers IFAB, would reduce the pre-shootout coin toss from two to one. Under the current rules, the referee conducts two: one to decide who kicks first, and a second to decide which end the penalties are taken. FIFA’s proposal would instead let the winning team choose either the order or the end, but not both. 

That would rule out a repeat of the Champions League final, when Paris Saint-Germain won both tosses against Arsenal and took both the order and the end – and the title in front of their own fans at the Puskas Arena, Budapest. 

However, FIFA’s move does beg the question – why is this coming up only now, with the World Cup already in full flow? 

The double-toss quirk has existed for years, and the PSG final that so clearly exposed it happened weeks ago, in plain sight. FIFA had the off-season, the build-up to the World Cup, and the entire group stage to raise it, debate it, and put it through the proper channels. Instead, the fix is being rushed through while matches are being played, with IFAB needing to approve it before the knockout stage begins on June 28. 

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