The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on.Fans across the globe are counting down the days until the action kicks off, when Mexico, and their Aztec-inspired home kit, take on South Africa at the Estadio Banorte, formerly the Azteca.Mexico kick off the World Cup against South Africa on June 11GettyThe expanded tournament, which will feature 48 teams for the first time in history, takes place across 16 venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico.It’s not just the number of teams that are new, this edition of the World Cup will feature multiple rule changes, specifically surrounding VAR, and giving referees more power.One of the rules, which has not garnered as much attention as the changes to VAR, could completely change player behaviour on the world’s biggest stage Referees will have the power to brandish a straight red card to any player who covers their mouth while confronting an opponent.Former referee and FOX Sports analyst Christian Unkel has warned that the crackdown could trigger a wave of “unintended consequences”.Unkel will be part of the FOX team for this summer’s tournament and she joined talkSPORT’s newest show – The S Word – to suggest that with emotionsrunning high there could be a serious impact.“It’s the biggest tournament in the world, it’s the dance,” Unkel told talkSPORT.“There’s billions of dollars associated with this World Cup, so having that kind of technology [VAR] is a gift.“I think we are going to really enjoy it, and there are rules changing with regard to covering your mouth, the captain only speaking to the referee, how we expedite time, and resetting yellow cards because the tournament has expanded.”Unkel believes that breaking that deeply ingrained habit of covering your mouth when talking could lead to total chaos.Referee’s will have the power to give a straight-red card to any player who covers their mouth when talking to an opponentAFPUnkel believes this is the rule that could cause chaos at the World CupYouTube / The S Word powered by talkSPORT“I think the rule that is going to be noticeable to fans, because I really think it’s going to impact player behaviour, is covering the mouth when they speak,” Unkel explained.“Players clearly cover their mouth for multiple reasons. I would think 90 percent is so that whatever they’re saying, even if it’s not nefarious, doesn’t get dubbed from them.”This rule was pushed through by FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was hit with a six-match ban for alleged racist abuse towards Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr.Unkel fears that accidental red cards are inevitable with this new rule.“Because players are in such a habit of doing that, I think it’s going to have an unintended consequence there of where they might be covering and how strictly are the referees going to be enforcing that,” Unkel added.Alongside the mouth-covering crackdown, referees will now dish out straight red cards to players or managers who walk off the pitch in protest of a decision.This rule is enforced off the back of Senegal’s 14-minute walk off against Morocco during the Afcon final.The new rule aims to successfully clean up behaviour, but runs the risk of becoming a tournament ruined by a flurry of soft red cards.All 104 games at the 2026 World Cup this summer will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.