Handball, offside, VAR and referees – Premier League rules, laws and new interpretation for 2024/25 season | Football News

The Premier League starts again on Friday and this season there will be a number of changes in the top division.

From VAR to handball and offside, and the fact that referee loyalty is being made public this season, a number of adjustments have been made for the new campaign.

Here’s a handy guide to some of the changes you can expect…

Friday August 16th 6:30 PM

Starts at 8:00 PM

What’s new with VAR for the 24/25 season?

Where else to start? VAR survived comfortably Wolves‘attempts to abolish it in the long term Premier League annual general meeting and is back for a new season.

The major new push focuses on the importance of the ‘referee’s call’ principle. The Premier League wants VARs to intervene in subjective decisions only if the on-field decision is clearly and patently wrong, after checking the directly available evidence.

There have also been efforts to improve communication. Screenshots and graphics explaining why a goal has been disallowed are still shown on large screens in the stadium, but goals that have been disallowed on the pitch this season and allowed by VAR are also shown, as well as goals where the restart was delayed while an incident was checked.

The league has also introduced a new X account – @PLMatchCentre – ‘near live’ provides objective updates after VAR checks are completed.

How does the handball rule change for the 24/25 season?

Let’s start with a small change in the law. It will now be a yellow card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by handball, if that handball is not considered intentional. Penalties will of course still be given for any offence of handball inside the penalty area.

In other handballs the referee chairman is Howard Webb recognises that there were instances last season where players were punished even when their hand or arm was in a justified position for the action taken, and wants this to stop.

Other mitigating circumstances referees will need to consider this season for potential handball offences include: a player’s proximity to the ball, whether the arm is used to support the body when falling, whether a player plays the ball onto his own arm or changes direction when the ball clearly changes direction.

Saturday August 17th 5:00 PM

Starts at 5:30 PM

Webb: Referee loyalty to be made public

Referees’ loyalty will be made public this season, said Webb, PGMOL’s chief referee.

Nottingham Forest were hit with a penalty by the Football Association in May after the association criticised the decision to appoint Luton fan Stuart Attwell for their match against Everton. The association said Attwell denied three clear penalty claims.

Webb said there were no plans to change the loyalty rules after Forest insisted “contextual rivalries” should be taken into account when making matchday arrangements. However, he did say there were plans to make the list of loyalties public.

“Officials will be asked to declare specific interests prior to the season, and as the season progresses, if any of those things change. That will be made public, I believe, so you can see what that looks like and what those declarations of interest are.

“We will look at each of those options and then make a decision (on appointments) because there is a conflict of interest if you declare yourself a supporter of a club, or if you have played for a club.

“If you have personal connections with people who also work for clubs, we will evaluate all those factors.”

How can referees save time in the 24/25 season?

Referees continue to calculate the exact time lost due to stoppages, with one minor adjustment.

The first 30 seconds after a goal is scored are not added to the end of the half, but any time spent celebrating a goal or time taken during a match is added to the end of the half. VAR check, will be added.

The competition expects that this will reduce the match duration by an average of one minute and 38 seconds.

Another time saver will be semi-automatic offside technology (SAOT), which is believed to reduce the average offside check by 31 seconds and will be more accurate than manually drawn VAR lines.

The technology won’t be available before the start of the season, however. The league has promised to introduce it after one of the autumn international breaks – the smart money seems to be on October.

Sunday August 18th 4:00 PM

Start 4.30 pm

How will the rules for rule infringements change for the 24/25 season?

Another minor change in the law concerns infringements in penalties. Field players will only be penalised for infringements if they have had some influence on the penalty, in the same way as a goalkeeper.

In the past, the referee would order a penalty kick to be retaken when attacking and defending players entered the field. Today, referees pay more attention to the impact of the penalty.

If both attackers and defenders advance, but only the attacker has a significant impact, an indirect free kick is awarded instead of a penalty retake.

Sunday August 18th 1:00 PM

Starts at 2:00 PM

How do the deviating laws change for the 24/25 season?

The Eredivisie feels criticism of VAR by players, managers and clubs has been damaging and discussions have been held on the issue during the relatively ‘quiet’ summer, with clubs and their staff urged to exercise restraint.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Masters said: “We’ve asked for patience to get it right. It’s five years old. It takes time.

“Football is relatively new in terms of technology. I think it will take some time before technology really works in football.”

People who cannot control themselves should be aware that there are now greater regulatory powers available to tackle disrespectful comments.

On the field, the league is sticking to the model it used last season to address discord, rather than The UEFA approach where only captains speak to referees when a conflict arises.

If you run up to the referee, confront him and clearly display disrespectful behavior, you will still receive a yellow card.

Last season’s repression certainly did not stop after a month or two: 173 yellow cards were handed out for criticism last season, compared to 79 in the 2022/23 season.

Monday August 19th 6:30 PM

Starts at 8:00 PM

How will the financial rules change for the 24/25 season?

The Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), including Everton And Nottingham Forest points were deducted last season and remain in place this season.

Keep an eye out for the competition confirmation in mid-January to see if any clubs are in default of their accounts for the 2023/2024 season.

In the background, clubs will be testing a new financial system based on two key pillars. The system is due to be implemented in 2025/2026.

The first will be a real-time monitoring that will limit clubs to spending 85 percent of their revenue on selection-related costs, dropping to 80 percent for those in UEFA matches this season.

The second is top-to-bottom anchoring, which effectively puts a hard cap on what clubs can spend. The cap will be a multiple of the smallest central handout paid to a club.

Manchester City And Manchester United oppose the measure, while the Professional Football Association says it will oppose anything that amounts to a salary cap for its members.

Watch former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher analyse the weekend’s action every Monday on Ref Watch. Sky Sports News from 11am!