The Football Association (FA) has introduced tougher anti-discrimination rules that will see players, managers and other technical staff found guilty of discriminatory conduct face a minimum 10-match suspension from the start of the new season.
The new sanction, agreed by the FA, Premier League, English Football League, National League and Women’s Super League, replaces the previous minimum six-match suspension for aggravated breaches of FA Rule E3.2.
The rule covers misconduct involving race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation and disability.
The FA announced the changes in a statement on Thursday, saying the revised sanctions reflect its commitment to eliminating discrimination from the game.
“While significant progress has been made in recent years, discriminatory conduct continues to be a challenge across the game,” the statement said.
“Enhanced measures are necessary to tackle this abhorrent conduct, and the FA’s updated sanction guidelines will now require Regulatory Commissions to impose a standard suspension of at least 10 matches in these circumstances,” the added.
Under the revised disciplinary framework, longer suspensions may be imposed where aggravating factors exist, while the minimum ban may only be reduced to six matches in exceptional circumstances, such as strong mitigating factors or an early admission of guilt.
The FA said repeat offenders could face suspensions exceeding 12 matches or lengthy time-based bans.
The new rules will apply across all competitions under the FA’s jurisdiction from the 2026–27 season.