Uefa will not adopt Fifa's mandatory drink breaks which prompted loud boos during England 's opening World Cup match.
The three-minute stoppages, which have been seized on by TV advertisers in the United States, have become increasingly controversial this summer.
Fifa maintains the "hydration breaks" must be respected at all games for consistency and competitive integrity. But critics point out that they have become a money-spinning vehicle for broadcasters and argue they are unnecessary at some games, such as England's 4-2 win against Croatia , a match played in an air-conditioned stadium.
Similar hydration breaks were in place at last year's Club World Cup to help players handle the heat and humidity of the North American summer.
However, Gary Neville and other critics say the breaks have been killing the flow of the game this summer by effectively splitting the game into four quarters.
Hydration breaks have been a feature of every match at this World Cup - Pedro Nunes/Reuters
Despite increasingly hot summers in Europe too, Uefa has confirmed it has "no plans" to follow suit at the 2028 European Championship, co-hosted by England, Scotland , Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
"Cooling and drinks breaks are already covered in Uefa regulations," a spokesman said. For all competitions, the need for any drink breaks in European football is assessed on a case-by-case basis "if high temperatures are expected", Uefa policy says.
"In such cases, the Uefa match delegate will take the temperature using ideally a digital wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) thermometer or in exceptional circumstances a similar device, such as a normal thermometer, at head-height at least one metre inside the pitch," the regulations say. Cooling breaks will only be made compulsory when the temperature tips beyond "32C WBGT/35C for senior competitions".
"Any other drinks breaks when the temperature is below those thresholds remain at the discretion of the referee," the regulations add.
A spokesman told Telegraph Sport : "Uefa has no plans to change these regulations for upcoming competitions, including for the Uefa Champions League and Uefa 2028 European Championship."
At Wednesday's England match, both sets of supporters booed as soon as referee Clément Turpin blew his whistle to signal the break in the 22nd minute.
There were ⁠also boos from the crowd when the first break started during Tuesday's match between Norway and Iraq at Gillette Stadium, where ⁠the temperature was a mild 23C.
Iraq were holding the Norwegians at 0-0 and playing well ⁠when the break started, but conceded a goal four minutes after play resumed and lost 4-1.
The pledge from Uefa comes a week after the governing body appointed Somali referee Omar Artan to officiate the 2026 Uefa Super Cup match between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa . Days earlier, Artan had been denied entry to the US for the World Cup.
