FIFA Changing Photographer Rules At World Cup Following Complaints

If you're a photographer for the FIFA World Cup, you might want to check your emails and official communications before going back to the games because there are going to be some abrupt changes.

Following Wednesday's win over Croatia, England national team manager Thomas Tuchel publicly complained about the position of the various photographers on the field. He said that their positioning made it hard for him to see his own players during the pre-game national anthem.

"I am begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers, because I could not see my team during the national anthem, and I was waiting for this moment," Tuchel said, via BBC Sport. "It was a very, very special moment today and I was standing in front of 50 photographers half a meter away and I could not see one single player. It ruined a little bit my experience today."

The Change

FIFA is usually ultra-strict about where coaches and photographers are supposed to stand for all pre-game ceremonies, but in this case they are ready to make an exception.

According to The Athletic via Awful Announcing, FIFA will now allow coaching staffs to stand to the left or right of credentialed photographers during the national anthem to ensure they get a good view. Per the report, the new procedure has already been implemented and was in place for Thursday's first game between Czechia and South Africa.

The issue likely stemmed from the dimensions of the football fields. Keep in mind: Most of the stadiums hosting World Cup games are for NFL football and do not have the dimensions of a soccer field built in.

As a result, stadiums like AT&T Stadium in Dallas (where Tuchel and England played yesterday), had to make modifications that gave coaches a little bit less space to work from than on soccer-specific stadiums.

At any rate, this change should keep future issues like the one Tuchel had from happening again.

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 9:57 PM.