Neville backs FIFA's time-limited substitution rule ahead of 2026 World Cup

Gary Neville has given his full backing to FIFA’s new time-limited substitution rule, which comes into force at the 2026 World Cup, opening in Mexico on Thursday when the host nation face South Africa.

Under the new rule, if a substituted player does not leave the pitch quickly enough, their team will temporarily be reduced to ten men — a measure designed to stop players deliberately wasting time during changeovers.

“I think this is an unbelievable introduction – time-limited substitutions. I love that,” Neville said on The Overlap podcast. “It’s so annoying watching players walk off slowly. The players and teams are gaming the system. You can criticise FIFA for many things but I do think they get their referee stuff right. I think those are pretty good introductions and will make the game better for the fans.”

Neville also welcomed a new throw-in counter, which pressures teams to restart play more quickly. “I’m massively up for the throw-in counter,” he said. “The amount of time that is taken in the Premier League … I’ve lost count of how many times we mentioned that last season. What we’ve witnessed over the past 12 months is teams stopping the game for a minute to prepare for set-pieces. I’m talking about League Two games as well as the Premier League — the ball is out of play for so long. I think it’s a good introduction.”

Not everyone in the punditry world shares Neville’s enthusiasm. His long-time colleague Roy Keane has raised doubts about the practicality of enforcing pace-of-play rules given the extreme heat expected at several venues. “Some of the rules are about the speed of play but it’s strange they’ve brought them in now when we’re talking about the conditions being so tough for the players,” Keane said. “If ever players will want to slow the game down it will be now given the heat in some of these venues.”

England have already encountered the tournament’s new protocols first-hand, with their pre-World Cup friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando delayed by an hour due to lightning strikes — a reminder that the 2026 edition is set to be unlike any previous World Cup in more ways than one.