Joe McConnell
The Premier League resumes on Friday and there will be some changes to the top flight this season.
From VAR to handballs and offsides, to the release of referee alliances this season, there have been a number of changes for the new campaign.
Here’s a handy guide to some of the changes you can expect…
Friday 16th August at 6.30pm
Start at 8:00 PM
What’s new with VAR for the 24/25 season?
Where else to start? ERA survived comfortably Wolves‘ efforts to eliminate it at The Premier League annual general meeting and returns for another season.
The big new push is on the importance of the principle of “referees’ call”. The Premier League wants VARs to intervene in subjective decisions only if the decision made on the pitch is clearly and demonstrably wrong, after a review of readily available evidence.
There have also been efforts to improve communications. Screenshots and graphics explaining why a goal was disallowed will continue to be shown on stadium giant screens, but in addition, goals disallowed on the pitch and validated by VAR will also be shown this season, as will goals where there was a delay in restarting while an incident was taking place.
The league also introduced a new X account – @PLMatchCentre – where “almost live”, objective updates will be provided after the completion of VAR checks.
How will the handball rule change for the 24/25 season?
Let’s start with a small change to the law. It will now be a yellow card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a handball, if that handball is not considered intentional. Penalties will still be awarded for any handball inside the penalty area, of course.
On other handballs, the chief referee Dr. Howard Webb recognises that there were instances last season where players were penalised even when their hand or arm was in a position that could be justified for the action taken, and wants this to end.
Other mitigating factors that referees will be required to consider this season when considering possible handball offences include: a player’s proximity to the ball, whether their arm is used to support their body as they fall, or a player deflecting or playing the ball onto their arm, where there is a clear change in the ball’s trajectory.
Saturday 17th August at 5pm
Start at 5:30pm
Webb: Referee alliances will be made public
Webb, PGMOL’s chief refereeing officer, said referee alliances would be made public this season.
In May, Nottingham Forest were hit by the Football Association after criticising the decision to hire Luton fan Stuart Attwell for the match against Everton, in which the association said Attwell had rejected three clear penalty claims.
Webb said there were no plans to change the allegiance rules after Forest insisted it should take into account “contextual rivalries” when making fixtures. However, he said there were plans in place to make the allegiance list public.
“The officials are asked to declare any specific interests before the season and as the season progresses, if any of those things change. I think that will be made public so you can see what that looks like and what those declarations of interests are.
“We look at each of these and then make a decision (on appointments), because there is a conflict of interest if you declare yourself a fan of a club or if you have played for a club.
“If you also have personal contacts with people who work in the clubs, we will evaluate all these (factors).”
How will referees save time in the 24/25 season?
Referees will continue to calculate the exact time lost due to stoppages, with one small change.
The first 30 seconds after a goal is scored will not be added to the end of the half, but any subsequent celebration time or time spent on a ERA check, it will be added.
The league believes this will reduce the average game length by one minute and 38 seconds.
Another time saver will be semi-automatic offside technology (SAOT), which is estimated to reduce the average offside detection by 31 seconds and will be more accurate than manually drawn VAR lines.
However, the technology will not be available for the start of the season. The league has committed to introducing it after one of the international breaks in the fall: the smart bet seems to be October.
Sunday 18th August at 4pm
Start at 4:30pm
How will the anti-invasion laws change for season 24/25?
Another small change to the law concerns encroachment during penalties. Outfield players will only be penalised for encroachment when they are deemed to have impacted the penalty in some way, in the same way as a goalkeeper.
In the past, the referee would order a retake if attacking and defending players invaded the penalty area; now referees will look to make an impact.
So, if both attackers and defenders invade the area but only the attacker has a significant impact, an indirect free kick will be awarded instead of retaking the penalty.
Sunday 18th August at 13:00
Start at 2:00 PM
How will dissent laws change for the 24/25 season?
THE First Category League hears criticism ERA by players, managers and clubs has been damaging and has launched a consultation on this issue in the relative ‘peace period’ of the summer, calling on clubs and their employees to show restraint.
CEO Richard Masters he said: “We asked for patience to do it right. He’s five years old. It takes time.
“Football is relatively new to technology. I think it will take a while for technology to really work in football.”
Those who can’t help themselves should be aware of the increased regulatory powers now at their disposal to counter disrespectful comments.
On the field, the league is sticking to the model it used last season to deal with dissent, rather than adopting That of UEFA approach where only the captains speak to the referees when there is a critical moment.
Running towards the referee and tackling him, demonstrating clearly disrespectful behaviour towards him, will still result in a yellow card.
Last season’s crackdown has hardly eased after a month or two: 173 yellow cards were issued for protests last season, compared to 79 in 2022/23.
Monday 19th August 18:30
Start at 8:00 PM
How will the financial rules change for the 24/25 season?
THE Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), according to which Everton AND Nottingham Forest which had points taken away last season, remain in force this season as well.
Keep an eye on the league in mid-January to see if any clubs are in default on their 2023/24 accounts.
In the background, clubs will shadow-test a new financial system based on two key pillars, with the aim of introducing it in 2025/26.
The first will be a real-time monitoring that will limit clubs to spending 85 percent of their revenue on team-related costs, dropping to 80 percent for those playing in The UEFA competitions this season.
The second is top-down anchoring, which effectively puts a cap on what clubs can spend. The cap will be a multiple of the smallest central subsidy paid to any club.
City of Manchester AND Manchester United they oppose the measure, while the Professional Footballers Association says it will oppose anything that would cap its members’ salaries.
Watch former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher analyse the weekend’s action on Ref Watch every Monday on Vscek News from 11:00!
