As the new Premier League season gets underway this weekend, we take a look at a handful of changes and additions to the rules and regulations...
1. Subs warming up
A slight tweak is that from this season, the number of substitutes allowed to warm up at the same time on the perimeter of the pitch during a match has gone up from three to five players per team.
This is to correspond with the fact that teams are able to make five substitutions at any one time.
2. Multiball
As before, the Premier League will practice the multiball system in 2024/25, with 15 balls in use to speed up the game.
When the match ball goes out of play and is not quickly retrievable, players must go to the nearest cone to collect a replacement ball themselves to restart play.
Ball assistants are not permitted to return a ball to a player but should return it to a vacant cone.
But from this season, an exception to this rule has been introduced in that the ball assistants positioned behind the goals at the end where the ball goes out are allowed to return a ball to the goalkeeper who will take the restart.
It remains the case that a club’s technical area staff who deliberately delay the restart of play by holding on to the ball, kicking the ball away etc. will be sent off. Any players who do the same in the technical area will receive a yellow card.
3. More accurate calculation of added time
From this season, when a goal is scored, match officials will only start adding time on to the end of the match when the delay between the goal and the subsequent kick-off exceeds 30 seconds. This will allow natural time for both teams to resume their restart positions after each goal.
Given that there were 3.28 goals scored per match last season on average, this change may result in a significant drop in stoppage time this season.
4. @PLMatchCentre X account launched
For the first time, the @PLMatchCentre X account will provide near-live explainers and updates on operational and officiating matters for every Premier League match.
The account will post factual explanations of on-pitch refereeing decisions and the involvement of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), including the role of technology in the decision-making process.
In the absence of live VAR audio being broadcast, as it is not permitted in football, the Premier League Match Centre will be able to relay on social media near-live information from the VAR Hub during a game.
Premier League Match Centre – based at Stockley Park – is the operational hub of the league that helps with the smooth running of matchday operations of the competition. It is linked into all 20 Premier League stadiums, the VAR Hub and broadcast partners around the world.
5. Changes to Laws
Firstly, in Law 12 on fouls and misconduct, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have tweaked it so that non-deliberate handball offences for which penalties are awarded are to be sanctioned in the same way as fouls which are an attempt to play the ball or challenge for the ball.
In short, referees will not automatically show a yellow card to players who have handled the ball and conceded a penalty.
Then around the penalty kick itself, or Law 14, a couple of changes have been made.
Firstly, there is a clarification that when the penalty-taker places the ball, part of the ball must touch or overhang the centre of the penalty mark. Secondly, encroachment by players at the moment the penalty is taken will be penalised only if it has an impact, following the same philosophy as goalkeeper encroachment at a kick.
6. 'Referee's call'
All penalties awarded in the Premier League are automatically checked by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), who will also check for possible penalties not awarded by the on-field referee.
For penalties awarded the VAR will check for any infringements by the attacking team in the attacking possession phase (APP) that led to the penalty as well as the incident for which the penalty was awarded.
For factual decisions such as offside or the ball being out of play in the APP, the VAR will inform the referee, who will overturn any penalty awarded.
For subjective penalty decisions, such as for a foul or for a handball, the referee will confirm their decision to the VAR and what they have seen - 'Referee's Call'. The VAR will look to identify through evidence readily available if there was a “clear and obvious error”.
If the evidence readily available to the VAR from the broadcast footage shows that the referee's on-field call is a clearly and obviously wrong, the VAR can recommend the on-field referee goes to the pitchside monitor to review. The final decision will remain with the on-field referee.
If a penalty decision is overturned with no infringement by the attacking team, play will restart with an uncontested drop ball for the defending team.
7. Semi-automated offsides (but not yet!)
Premier League clubs voted unanimously in April to introduce semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) into the competition from the 2024/25 season. Here is how it will work. However, SAOT won’t be ready for the start of the season on 16 August, but is expected to be ready to be used from after one of the autumn international breaks.
When it is introduced, computer vision cameras powered by Genius Sports will be installed in every Premier League stadium. These cameras around the ground will track the ball as well as thousands of data points for each player and the ball.
When a match-defining moment occurs, such as a penalty, a goal or a red card, the technology will track to see if any attacking player involved in the build-up to the incident was offside.
If a player receives a ball in an offside position, the technology will send an alert to the officials in the VAR Hub.
They will check that the point of contact with the ball and automated offside line have been correctly recorded. The VAR will then inform the on-field officials if an offside has been recorded.
