World Cup Plans Harsh Penalties for Fake Injuries

Players who fake injury during the World Cup finals in the United States will automatically receive a yellow card.

In an interview published Tuesday in the Times of London, FIFA’s general secretary, Sepp Blatter, said the automatic card will help curb the time-wasting tactics that marred the 1990 World Cup in Italy. “Medical attention will not be permitted on the field except for cuts or serious injury, for which a player must be carried off,” Blatter said.

Blatter said the policy of taking players off the field for treatment was used successfully at last month’s Asian World Cup qualifying tournament in Doha, Qatar.