Concacaf announce that players expelled in the Gold Cup can pay the sanction in later friendly matches.
The Concacaf An agreement with the FIFA announced on Wednesday that modifies the application of red card penalties in the Gold Cup 2025 for the teams of Canada, Mexico and the United States, hosts of the World Cup 2026.
Initially, it had been established that the players expelled in the decisive stages of the tournament (semifinals and final) would fulfill their suspension match at the World Cup inaugural meeting, since the Gold Cup is the last official Concacaf event before the World Cup.
However, after intense negotiations, Concacaf made these sanctions meet in the friendly matches of the FIFA date of September 2025, although they are not official tournament meetings.
Concacaf confirmed it with a statement: “After extensive discussions with FIFA, Concacaf confirms that any pending suspension of the Gold Cup 2025 for Canada, Mexico and the United States, Coanfitations of the 2026 World Cup, must be fulfilled in its next international friendly match and not in the 2026 World Cup.”
This change represents a significant relief for the selections involved, since it guarantees that their campuses will arrive completely to the most important world football tournament.
The main beneficiary of this measure is the Canadian midfielder Jacob Shaffelburg, who was expelled in the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup against Guatemala. Under the previous disposition, Shaffelburg would have lost the opening match of Canada in the 2026 World Cup.
Now, he will fulfill his sanction in the friendly against Romania in September, being released for the World Cup event. For Mexico, this resolution eliminates a concern for coach Javier Aguirre and his 26 summoned, who can compete in the Gold Cup without the fear that an expulsion affects their participation in the World Cup. After the Gold Cup, Mexico will measure Japan and South Korea in friendly matches for September.
