RULE BREAKER
What Premier League laws and rules have changed for the 2024/25 season?
There will be a few differences in how the game is officiated in the Premier League this season
THE Premier League returns THIS WEEK as fans gear up for another season of thrilling action.
But you will notice some tweaks to the way the game is officiated this term - SunSport details all the changes below.
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Premier League rule changes for 2024/25 season
Subs warming up
This season, Premier League clubs will be allowed to have as many as five players warm up on the perimeter of the pitch during a match at any one time.
Last term, teams were only allowed three players warming up on the side of the pitch at once.
The change for the coming campaign corresponds with teams being able to make five substitutions at any period.
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Multiball
The Premier League will continue to practice the multiball system in 2024/25, with 15 balls in use to speed up the pace of the game.
When the ball goes out of play and it is not quickly retrievable, players must go to the nearest cone to collect a replacement ball and restart play.
Previously, ball assistants were not permitted to return a ball directly to a player but return to a vacant cone.
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From this season, ball assistants that are 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.
If a club's technical area staff deliberately delay the restart of play by holding on to the ball or kicking the ball away, they will be sent off.
Any players in the technical area who do the same will be shown a yellow card.
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More accurate calculation of added time
From the 2024/25 campaign, 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 subsequent kick-off exceeds 30 seconds.
This change aims to significantly reduce the amount of stoppage time in each game.
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What football laws have changed ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season?
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) have made some changes to the laws of the game ahead of the new Premier League season.
Here are all the key law changes that will affect the Premier League:
Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct
- Clarification that non-deliberate handball offences for which penalties are awarded are to be sanctioned in the same way as fouls which are an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for the ball
Law 14 – The Penalty Kick
- Clarification that part of the ball must touch or overhang the centre of the penalty mark
- Encroachment by players will be penalised only if it has an impact (same philosophy as goalkeeper encroachment)
Will semi-automated offsides be in use during the 2024/25 Premier League season?
In April, 2024, Premier League clubs approved unanimously the use of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) for the 2024/25 campaign.
The Premier League have stated the plan is to introduce the system after one of the international breaks in September or October - meaning the technology will not be in use for the start of the season.
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According to FIFA, semi-automated offside technology helps them make ‘’faster, more reproducible, and more accurate offside decisions’’.
The tech uses 12 tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player - calculating their exact position on the pitch, plus a chip in the ball to determine if it was played by a defender or attacker.
So, in the case of an offside situation, the video operations room will receive an automated alert alongside an automatically selected point and instant drawn lines within seconds of the incident.
Match officials will then have to validate the proposed selected kick point and the drawn offside line before VAR communicates the final decision on the pitch.
Extra VAR officials will be in charge of calling offsides, with the algorithm providing a 3D animation to explain a call in an average of 25 seconds.
That illustration is then available on the giant screens within the stadium for TV viewers to take a look at in the next stoppage of play.
However, complex incidents or multiple incidents that occur at the same time can require a more thorough review of the situation.
And in the event that semi-automated offside technology does not work correctly, the video match officials can still use other well-known offside support tools.
A change to Premier League team news
In years gone by, fans of Premier League clubs have expected team news to come exactly one hour before kick off on a matchday.
However, for the coming season, the rules have changed to allow all 20 clubs to release their line-ups 75 minutes before the match begins.
This change means that top-flight clubs kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday can now release their team sheets at 1.45pm.
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This adjustment is a bid to align with rules in Uefa competitions.
It is also an attempt to stop leaks in the 15 minutes between the teams being given to the referee and being announced publicly.
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