What changes under basketball’s new foul rules in 2026?

From 1 October 2026, FIBA’s revised basketball rules replace the old unsportsmanlike foul with two calls: disruptive and flagrant. The distinction matters when you hear the whistle. A disruptive foul penalises certain illegal contact that stops an attack; a flagrant foul covers conduct beyond an ordinary or disruptive foul. Only the flagrant counts towards automatic game disqualification. FIBA has also split technical fouls into two categories, and only category 1 counts towards that same disqualification tally. FIBA’s 2026 rules set out the definitions and penalties.

This is a change to the FIBA rulebook, which FIBA says takes effect worldwide on 1 October. A competition can announce its own rollout: Australia’s NBL says it began applying the changes during its 2026–27 campaign, starting at the preseason NBL Blitz. The NBA has its own foul rules; hearing “flagrant” in an NBA game does not make the two rulebooks interchangeable.

What is a disruptive foul?

Picture a defender grabbing a ball-handler’s arm to stop a fast break before the attacker starts shooting. FIBA’s official interpretation gives that as a disruptive foul: unnecessary contact to halt the transition, with no legitimate attempt to play the ball directly.

The rule also covers certain clock-stopping contact late in a quarter or overtime. Another route to the call is illegal contact from behind or the side against a player advancing towards an unguarded basket, including a player about to receive a released pass. The exact circumstances matter. A defender who actually reaches for the ball and makes illegal contact is not automatically guilty of a disruptive foul merely because the play is a fast break. The transition and unguarded-basket criteria end once the attacker starts shooting. But contact intended to stop the clock late in a period can still be disruptive during a shot, as FIBA’s interpretation 37-8 shows. FIBA’s Article 37 and interpretations make these boundaries explicit.

The fouled player normally gets two free throws if they were not shooting, followed by possession through a frontcourt throw-in. Shooting situations have different free-throw counts. A disruptive foul does not count towards automatic game disqualification, though it is still a player foul and counts towards the team-foul total. A player can still reach the ordinary five-foul limit and have to leave the game.

What makes a foul flagrant?

A flagrant foul is more serious illegal contact. FIBA’s Article 38 includes a reckless or dangerous act that causes or could cause injury. Excessively hard contact, even in an effort to play the ball, can qualify too. The official must judge the action itself, so a hard foul on a break is not simply labelled disruptive because it stopped a transition.

A flagrant foul brings free throws for the fouled player and then a frontcourt throw-in, with the free-throw count depending on whether the player was shooting and whether the shot went in. It counts as a player and team foul. One flagrant foul is not, by itself, an automatic ejection under Article 38; a second flagrant triggers game disqualification. A separate disqualifying foul under Article 39 can remove someone immediately for a sufficiently serious action. Read FIBA’s full foul provisions.

Which technical fouls count towards ejection?

Under FIBA’s new classification, category 1 technical fouls count towards game disqualification. Examples in the rulebook include taunting an opponent and disrespectful communication with an official. Faking being fouled is also listed. Category 2 does not count towards that automatic tally; delaying a throw-in and improperly hanging on the ring are examples.

Either category still carries a technical-foul penalty: the opponents receive one free throw. When committed by a player, either category counts as a player foul and a team foul. The categories therefore change the route to disqualification, not whether the whistle has a penalty. FIBA’s Article 36 describes the categories; the examples are illustrative rather than an exhaustive list.

When does the player actually leave?

For a player under FIBA’s 2026 rules, the first flagrant or category 1 technical starts a shared disqualification tally. A second foul from either category ends their game, including when the two calls differ. Disruptive fouls and category 2 technicals do not add to this particular tally. A separate disqualifying foul can remove a player immediately.

There is another number to watch: five player fouls. At five, the player must leave under Article 41, whether or not they have hit a game-disqualification combination. That is why “this foul does not count towards ejection” never means “the player can keep fouling indefinitely”.

If you hear a new call during an NBL game, first ask whether the contact merely stopped play or met the more serious flagrant criteria. Then check the player’s earlier flagrant and category 1 technical calls. That tells you whether the latest whistle also ends their game.