With the 2024–25 Premier League season set to start on Friday, the Football Association (FA) has introduced six new rule changes. In this article, our expert team highlights the key rule changes to watch for while enjoying the upcoming Premier League season.
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Changes to Stoppage Time
Last season, Premier League matches experienced unusually long added time as officials attempted to address time-wasting. This season, a new rule is in place that will see referees only start counting the seconds wasted once a goal has been scored after the 30-second mark.
“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.”
Five Players Subs Warming Up
In the aftermath of the pandemic, Premier League clubs have been permitted to make up to five substitutions per game, an increase from the previous limit of three. This season, the number of players who are allowed to warm up on the touchline at the same time has been increased from three to five to reflect that.
“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.”
Changes in Ball Boy and Ball Girl Allowing Quick Restart
To reduce delays caused by retrieving balls, there will now be 15 balls available throughout the match. This will enable a quick restart during the game.
“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.”
Handball Rule Changes
This season, there is a major change regarding handball penalties in soccer. Previously, players who committed unintentional handballs inside the penalty box would automatically receive a yellow card. However, this rule has been updated. Now, referees will evaluate these incidents like any other fouls in the area, and players will not automatically receive a yellow card for unintentional handballs. This change is aimed at reducing unfair dismissals for players who did not deliberately handle the ball.
Penalty Rule Changes
In the upcoming season, new rules will require that part of the ball must be touching or hanging over the center of the penalty mark when a player takes a spot-kick. Additionally, there will be new regulations to prevent encroachment. If any player, aside from the one taking the penalty, enters the box before the spot-kick is taken, it will only be considered encroachment if they interfere with the play.
Starting Lineups Announcement Changes
For a long time, teams have been restricted by an embargo that prevented them from revealing their starting lineups until 60 minutes before kickoff. However, reports from premierleague.com indicate a change for the 2024–25 season: Premier League teams will now be allowed to announce their starting lineup 75 minutes before the match.
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