With the Premiership season kicking off this weekend I thought now would be a good time to point out some rule changes that some fans might not be aware of.
Every year certain people in a position of power have to justify their salaries so come up with little tweaks for the sport.
Often officials implement these laws for a few weeks before it fizzles out.
Yet I think it is fair to say between Mikel Arteta and certain Gooners, Arsenal love a conspiracy theory.
So I need to stress that if you see a ref make a decision that you have not seen before, that is because new laws have been introduced. The actual myth is that it would take the Gunners by surprise.
While some in the stands or at home might not know about these alterations, all of our players and coaching staff are up to date.
Each pre season the 20 squads in the division are briefed for the following campaign.
Keeper – 8 Second Rule
This heavily concerns David Raya because let us be honest he is one of the worst or best at time wasting.
When holding the ball, the keeper will have 8 seconds to release it. If he goes over that time the opposition will be awarded a corner.
I saw this implemented in the Club World Cup and now we just need to see if officials will be brave enough to implement this consistently.
The issue is when is this most likely to happen?
In the final stages of games when defending a narrow lead.
Wait for the first stoppage time goal to be scored because of this and listen to the cries of agenda.
Again, all goalkeepers have been told about that change so will only have themselves to blame if they concede because of it.
Harsher On Shirt Holding Or Pulling
I will be honest if there is one rule change that might last a few weeks and then be quietly forgotten about it will be this one.
Officials have been told to get more strict if they witness pulling and pushing at set pieces.
Players therefore have been warned this will be watched.
So again, no one can act shocked if they get punished for something they once got away with.
The issue is even with the benefit of VAR, how many refs are brave enough to call what they see?
This has been going on for decades.
Years ago zero tolerance could have been demanded where a penalty was awarded every time a shirt was pulled. That would have stopped it.
Trying to change that in 2025 is ambitious.
Like the handball rule there seems to be a lack of clarity about what is shirt pulling.
So they still have room to hide behind.
Captains Only
This was meant to be dealt with years ago because it is a bad habit that has started to creep back into the sport.
In the late 90s and early 00s teams, particularly Man United, were guilty of surrounding officials.
It was agreed by all parties that during a game only the captain would approach the ref.
With that request being increasingly ignored it has not just been repeated to all teams, it has been made clear that anyone speaking or disrespecting officials without permission will get a yellow card.
The only slight change is if a keeper is the one wearing the armband he can pick a teammate to represent him to converse with the official.
If You Kick A Penalty Twice
UEFA were forced to clarify this law after Alvarez slipped taking a penalty in the Champions League last 16.
The Argentine slipped in the shoot out, accidentally kicking the ball twice.
Not only did the conversion not count but it counted as a miss.
Under the new rules if that happens again, the player will at least get the chance to retake it, unless they have not scored.
This happened to the Lionesses in the Final of the Euros.
Semi Automated Offside
This should simply speed up the process when VAR want to check if a player was offside or not. At the grounds that have the capability to do so, the images will be shown on the big screen.
Automated offside flags were at the Club World Cup but will not be used in the Prem.
So you will still have to wait for an attack to conclude before a flag goes up.
Ref Cam
Trialled at the Club World Cup, the Prem will give it a go in the first couple of months and then decide if it is here to stay.
In other words they will see if the likes of Sky think it makes any difference to their coverage.
Let us be honest having officials wearing cameras is purely for entertainment.
Fans will not have access to live footage though and anything shown is at the broadcaster’s discretion.
VAR Decisions Announced
This has been done in quite a few competitions in the last couple of years but never in the Prem.
If the official is told by VAR to look at his or her monitor or to reconsider a decision there will be a live announcement of what or why the call has been made.
It is pointless as all a live crowd care about is if their team have benefitted.
If they have not, justified or not, they are booing whatever is said.
What do you think, Gooners – which of these rule changes will have the biggest impact on Arsenal’s season?
Dan Smith
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Well the first rule change of 8 seconds to get rid of the ball while I like the idea, teams will just time waste in different ways. So for me it doesn’t go far enough for me regards stamping out time wasting. I’ve given my opinion on how to deal with it on several post’s in the past. But until the powers that be, decide to take serious steps to deal with time wasting, it will just carry on as normal. And sadly our team are one of the most guilty of it. Any set piece we get tells you that.
The shirt pulling, I agree with you Dan. They will penalize teams for maybe the first month, and then slowly go back to largely ignoring it. The irony is, don’t be surprised if we fall foul to the shirt pulling, and then the conspiracy theorists will go into overdrive. 😂
As for the Captains only, while a good idea in theory, players just can’t help themselves can they. I’ll be interested to see how this works over the season.
As for the rest of the rule changes, to be honest I got bored after the first three. 😂🤣👍
No reflection on you though Dan Smith. (Honest😂).
The eight seconds are counted by the ref when he’s decided that the keeper has full control of the ball, so seems fair enough. I’ve not heard of any incidents in yesterday’s games, so it seems to be working so far
There’s also a weird new rule called Inadvertent Interference for when any members of the off-field subs, coaches, or players injured but taking time out accidentally touch the ball while still in play or leaving play.
The problem with these changes – as with the original rules – is that they are still going to be applied by the same people, following the same principles. So, the 8-second rule or the shirt-pulling rule will likely be applied more strictly against teams like Arsenal, because of the public clamour about “dark arts,” than against Liverpool or City. I’m quite sure this will happen because we’ve seen it time and again. Add to this the fact that the ref can count at his own pace and that it’s down to the ref to decide which shirt pull to penalise, and you just get more of the same.
Way back Cameroon had a brilliant idea on how to prevent shirt-pulling: just have all players wear speedos. I really don’t know why FIFA didn’t go with this idea – it’s practically the only way to make it more likely for a ref to notice actual infractions, instead of treating all shirt-pulls as reciprocal and thus irrelevant… 😉
That might work with shorts, but I don’t see what difference it would make to shirt pulling, but those Cameroonians are a crazy crowd for sure.🤣
Season hasn’t even started yet and victim mode is out and about
@zdsis:
You know exactly what it is.
👍
It looks weird when a team gets a corner because the keeper holds onto it for 8 seconds. I thought it seemed very strange. Not sure I like the rule, because there are times when a keeper claims a cross and he has many bodies surrounding him, then he has to wait til some of them clear his area. I think this rule might force the keepers to go long more often
Liverpool players already surrounded the ref on opening day to no consequences. Cant wait to see what teams some of these rules will and will not be enforced on. Always nice and fair!
Cherries also got away with a blatant handball
How VAR didn’t call that ill never know
For sure, that was definitely a sending off
Watching a Chelsea and Palace game. Palace great goal was disallowed because of something like shirt pulling and the explanation was broadcasted.
HH, first they said it was a foul by the CP captain, then they said it was Law 13, the attacking player wasn’t 1 metre away from the defensive wall. That rule has been in place since 2019, yet Sunday was the first time I can remember seeing it applied.
8 seconds is too low for the keeper to scan where to send the ball to.
8 seconds seems reasonable when you consider that they don’t start until the keeper has complete control of the ball and isn’t under any pressure from opposing players.
We are already seeing inconsistencies in the application of these rules- that’s my major gripe with the PGMOL.
The shirt pulling / holding is a disaster waiting to happen, far too subjective to be administered properly
I expect a lot of PGMOL apology media statements this season with the “enforcement” of this rule
Not to mention cheats who will exaggerate or deliberately try to deceive the referee with simulated actions. This can become the new diving if not cracked down at the start and simulators booked immediately.
The rules can be as great as they want but in the end it is judged by the same incompetent bunch of officials(bar some) who will apply them as they see it fit. Many EPL referees has massive ego and love to be the center of attention and the PGMOL is a self -serving organization who will cover their own.
Players and managers face the media, enquiries, etc when making mistakes or breach rules but referees don’t. When Micheal Oliver clearly made 2 terrible calls of not sending off Kovacic for 2 red card offences in matters of minutes, u had their boss come live to sell some bs reason to defend him instead of calling it what it was.
😂
The decision to not use automated offside flags in the Premier League, despite their use in other competitions like the Club World Cup, might be influenced by a preference for British-made products. If the technology used in the Premier League wasn’t domestically produced, it’s possible that the league prioritizes supporting local innovation.
Some points to consider:
– The Premier League has a strong reputation for promoting British football and innovation.
– There’s a growing trend of sports leagues prioritizing local technology and solutions.
– Automated offside technology is still evolving, and different leagues might have varying approaches to implementation.
– The Premier League might be cautious about adopting new technology from external sources, preferring to develop or partner with British companies.
– Economic factors, such as supporting local businesses and job creation, could also play a role in the Premier League’s decision-making process.
However, without concrete evidence, it’s difficult to say for certain whether this is a factor in the Premier League’s decision-making process.
I vividly remember the introduction of semi-automated offside technology last season, and I was thrilled! It significantly reduced the time spent on VAR reviews, providing quicker decisions and a smoother match experience. The technology’s ability to accurately detect offside positions using multiple cameras and AI has been a game-changer. In contrast, the old method of drawing lines, with green for “not offside” and red for “offside,” is annoying and time-wasting.
However, I’m surprised to hear that the semi-automated technology might not be used this season, potentially reverting to the old-fashioned method. The manual method often leads to prolonged VAR reviews and increased tension among spectators. The semi-automated technology has proven to be highly accurate and efficient, making it a better choice for the game. It will be interesting to see how the Premier League navigates this decision and its potential impact on the game.
Whatever works best for fraud seems most desirable for pgmol.
It will be interesting to see the changes will be applied to all teams, and for the whole course of the season?