Rio Ferdinand has tipped controversial World Cup feature to arrive in Premier League

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 introducing a variety of new rules, Rio Ferdinand has tipped one of the most controversial features to begin finding a place in club football, starting with the Premier League and La Liga.

Many of the new refereeing legislations have been a resounding success at the World Cup. Notably, the increased speed of goalie kicks and throw-ins has sped the games up (despite Andy Robertson's hack), and a more lenient approach to natural body contact has prevented cheap and easy free-kicks being awarded.

The use of VAR has also been efficient so far, with a tournament free of 'wrong' decisions so far.

However, some rules have been more controversial than others, just as Miguel Almiron found out by being the first player to be given marching orders for covering their mouth in a confrontation - something fans feel Jude Bellingham was lucky to escape punishment for.

The most divisive of the lot, though, is hydration breaks.

In the last few days alone, Jurgen Klopp has backed Van Dijk in his stance against the mandatory three-minute hydration breaks that hinder both players' and fans' experience.

Working as a pundit on German television, the former Liverpool boss said that they are too long.

"It’s definitely too long because, for drinking, you don’t need two and a half minutes or whatever.

"But that’s the thing. It’s got its use, and when you are in the stadium, it’s OK because you get a little bit of a show — in Dallas with the cheerleaders, which I enjoyed on the big screen.

"It’s completely fine, but I understand when you sit at home, and then the commercials start… but being my age, it is a welcome break to go to the toilet!"

This came shortly after FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a statement defending the controversial stoppages.

"There is no additional revenue for FIFA, as all commercial agreements were signed well in advance. So, this is not a financial issue for us. For us, it is purely a sporting matter,” he said.

Despite causing an annoyance for players and fans alike, Rio Ferdinand now thinks that it won't be long before we see them in the Premier League.

"If all these players and these countries and these federations want the money, you’ve got to do a few things a bit differently,” Ferdinand said in an interview with The Athletic.

“There has to be a bit of give and take somewhere. They’re not affecting the game that much.

“This is something I see maybe happening further around. It could go into the Premier League or La Liga, etc., because it’s more money. They’re going to look at it: ‘Let’s dig into it and find out how much more money came into the World Cup, to FIFA, just on these breaks’.

“So I’m saying, what if it’s a hundred more million? The Premier League is doing it in that situation, and I don’t blame them.”

It would be a big step for the Premier League to introduce something like hydration breaks to matches on a cold, windy night in Sunderland. But for events like the FA Cup Final, you can see why it would be attractive for the English federation to consider.