A brand new Premier League season brings a brand new flurry of rule changes and this year has proved no different.
The campaign begins this Friday with Manchester United’s home match against Fulham and excitement has been building steadily since Man City lifted the trophy in May to seal an unprecedented four consecutive titles.
Meanwhile the Football League, which will be affected by a number of new FA rules, kicked off its season last weekend.
And now a whole host of adjustments to the way officials apply the game’s laws have been introduced ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Added time gets yet another overhaul after last year’s widely-discussed rule changes saw matches often eclipse 100 minutes in length.
Added time gets yet another overhaul after last year’s widely-discussed rule changes
This campaign might see a more congested touchline with more subs now allowed to warm up
This year, less time will be added on when a team scores a goal in what appears to be an attempt to reduce some of the mammoth spells of stoppage time we saw last campaign.
In what is somewhat of an overhaul, officials will now only start adding time on 30 seconds after a goal is scored, to account for players making their way back to their positions.
The Premier League said it is expecting this adjustment might cause a ‘significant drop’ in the amount of additional time this season.
This campaign might also see a more congested touchline with a greater number of substitutes now allowed to warm up at the same time on the edges of the pitch.
The league will now permit five players to warm up at once compared with three last season.
One of the more noticeable changes since the Covid-19 pandemic has featured the introduction of ball cones – little white stations where players can collect a ball instead of a ball boy or ball girl having to pass one to them.
This season will see the return of roaming ball assist – to an extent.
For 2024/25, ball boys and boy girls may pass a ball to a goalkeeper if the ball goes off for a goal kick, enabling potentially quicker restarts.
Excitement has been building steadily since Man City lifted the trophy in May
Officials will now only start adding time on 30 seconds after a goal is scored
Meanwhile, a selection of tweaks to the FA’s laws of the game include new stipulations on concussion substitutes and penalties.
Additional permanent concussion substitutions will now be available to teams across all competitions in an adjustment to the FA’s laws.
In one of a number changes to the laws on penalty kicks, the FA have stipulated that ‘encroachment by players will be penalised only if it has an impact’ meaning that those who run into the box during a spot kick, but are not seen to have affected the game, will not be penalised.
Furthermore, the body has clarified that ‘part of the ball must touch or overhang the centre of the penalty mark’ during the spot kick.
The rule changes come after the Premier League launched a new account on X, formerly Twitter, which will provide ‘near-live’ explanations of refereeing decisions.
A statement from the Premier League read: ‘The Premier League has launched a new X account @PLMatchCentre ahead of the start of the 2024/25 season.
‘For the first time, the social media 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.’
And earlier this month officials said they were looking to cut down on the awarding of ‘soft penalties’ for handball uring the 2024/25 season by showing leniency when the ball changes direction.
The Premier League has unveiled an X account that will provide ‘near-live’ explanations of refereeing decisions
Former Premier League referee Kevin Friend revealed new guidance regarding handball
Last season there was much confusion over the handball rule with some potential infringements missed, including Jack Grealish against Chelsea in the FA Cup
Last season fans were often left confused about the handball laws amid a string of harsh penalty decisions.
But former referee Kevin Friend said: ‘We saw some soft penalties last season for handball so if it’s a clear directional movement from the ball from the foot to the hand we’re not going to be penalising that.
‘We’re basically looking for examples where it clearly hits the arm unjustifiably, hands above the head, away from the body, to deliberately block the ball from going into the box or into the goal.’
