MIES (Switzerland) - Having been signed off by the FIBA Central Board earlier this year, the summary of the approved FIBA Official Basketball Rules Changes are now available for the global basketball family to access. To assist all of the sport's stakeholders in successfully accommodating the changes, FIBA will also be delivering a number of different supporting activities ahead of implementation. This will include a National Federation support package and series of webinars starting in August. Meanwhile the updated Official Basketball Rules Interpretations (OBRI) is scheduled for publication during September. The FIBA Official Basketball Rules changes were proposed by the FIBA Rules Advisory Group, which comprises of coaches, players, referees, and experts.
They were then considered by the FIBA Technical Commission before being ratified by the FIBA Central Board earlier this year.
The main amendments include:
Allowing the use of the Instant Replay System (IRS) to review a goaltending or basket interference violation, after a foul has been committed, at any time of the game.
Allowing the use of the Instant Replay System (IRS) to review whether the ball was still in the hands of the thrower-in at the moment a foul was committed by the defensive team during a throw-in situation in the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter and in each overtime.
Introducing two types of technical fouls, according to their nature and severity level. One will count towards game disqualification and the other will not.
Introducing the notion of Disruption and Flagrant fouls instead of Unsportsmanlike fouls.
Removing the requirement for socks to be visible.
Providing more flexibility with regard to line colors and court markings to cater to modern marketing demands.
The new edition of the FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026 will be available shortly and will come into effect on October 1, 2026.
The FIBA Official Basketball Rules Changes are available here.
FIBA