Video Support added to the Semifinals and Final of the 2026 TELUS Canadian Championship
Canada Soccer will introduce the use of Football Video Support for the Semifinals and Final of the 2026 TELUS Canadian Championship. The system will support Match Officials in these last five matches which includes the home-and-away Semifinals in September plus the single match Canadian Final on 21 October 2026.
Football Video Support permits coaches to challenge a potential clear error or serious missed incident in relation to goals, penalties, red cards, and disciplinary cases of mistaken identity. The replay-technology system can only be used after the referee has taken a decision.
The introduction of Football Video Support in these two rounds will complement the use of the 2026-27 IFAB Laws of the Game which will be used throughout the 2026 TELUS Canadian Championship starting with the Preliminary Round on 5 May. In particular, the 2026-27 updates will support the Referee’s ability to dissuade time-wasting tactics during substitutions, throw ins, and goal kicks.
Canada Soccer’s TELUS Canadian Championship is the nation’s highest domestic knockout tournament featuring clubs from coast to coast competing for the Voyageurs Cup. Winners of the domestic TELUS Canadian Championship qualify for the annual international competition Concacaf Champions Cup on the road to the FIFA Club World Cup.
Fans can follow all the action from the 2026 TELUS Canadian Championship live on OneSoccer, available on the fuboTV Canada platform, as a linear channel on Telus’s Optik TV (Channel 980), as well as online at OneSoccer.ca and through the OneSoccer app. Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X , and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CanChamp.
The 2026-27 Laws of the Game
Measures to deal with tempo disruption and time lost
- Law 3 – The Player: Substitution Procedure
- Once a substitution has been signaled by the referee or the substitution board has been shown, the player being substituted must leave the field of play within ten seconds. If they do not leave the field in time, they must still leave as quickly as possible, but the substitute may not enter until the first stoppage after one minute (running clock) following the restart.
- Law 15 – Throw-in
- When a throw-in is being deliberately delayed by the team taking the restart, the referee will whistle, signal and start a visual five-second countdown. If the ball is not in play at the end of the countdown:
- the referee will award the throw-in to the opposing team, to be taken from the same position as the original throw-in.
- When a throw-in is being deliberately delayed by the team taking the restart, the referee will whistle, signal and start a visual five-second countdown. If the ball is not in play at the end of the countdown:
- Law 16 – Goal Kicks
- When a goal kick is being deliberately delayed by the team taking the restart, the referee will whistle, signal and start a visual five-second countdown. If the ball is not in play at the end of the countdown:
- the referee will award a corner kick to the opposing team, to be taken on the side of the field closest to where the goal kick was to be taken.
- When a goal kick is being deliberately delayed by the team taking the restart, the referee will whistle, signal and start a visual five-second countdown. If the ball is not in play at the end of the countdown:
Other key law Changes
- Law 5 – The Referee
- The advantage may be applied when a restart is incorrectly taken, and the ball is in play.
- Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct
- No caution (yellow card) for a DOGSO offence if the advantage is played and a goal is scored
To assist with the implementation of the Law changes and the translations, please refer the documents available at www.theifab.com/documents.