English football's top flight is entering the new campaign with a wave of regulatory changes designed to speed up matches, curb time-wasting and give supporters greater insight into refereeing decisions.
Among the most notable changes borrowed from this summer's World Cup are new substitution protocols. Players being replaced will now have just 10 seconds to leave the field via the nearest exit. Failure to do so will see their team forced to play with 10 men for a full minute, unless the departing player is injured or facing a security concern.
Time-wasting at restarts is also being targeted. Referees will introduce five-second countdowns for goal kicks and throw-ins whenever a delaying tactic is suspected — such as a player ignoring the match ball in favour of another. A whistle will signal the start of the countdown, with the referee counting down using hand signals. Ignoring the countdown will result in possession being handed to the opposition, though elaborate long throw-in routines are exempt as they are classified as set pieces. Goalkeepers who stall too long over goal kicks will concede a corner.
Injury protocols have also been tightened. Players receiving pitchside treatment must now stay off for a full minute, doubled from the previous 30-second allowance. The same one-minute rule applies to players who go down and cause the ball to go out of play. However, this requirement is waived if the player responsible for the foul receives a card.
A further change directly addresses a long-standing gripe: goalkeepers using injury time-outs to allow their managers a tactical breather. Under the new system, if a goalkeeper calls for treatment, an outfield teammate must leave the pitch for 60 seconds. Teams have only 10 seconds to inform the fourth official which player will depart, and if that window is missed, the captain will be the one forced off.
VAR's remit has also been expanded. Officials will now be permitted to review second yellow cards resulting in a dismissal, provided there is a clear and obvious error — split opinion alone will not be enough to overturn a decision. Video review will also cover fouls occurring before a set-piece delivery if the passage of play leads to a goal, penalty or card, though only when the ball is already in play; if the ball has yet to enter play, no penalty can be awarded, so a corner would simply be retaken rather than a free kick given. VAR can additionally intervene in cases of mistaken identity, though it will no longer be able to overturn incorrect corner-kick decisions, and there will be no review process for red cards issued for players covering their mouths during confrontations.
Alongside these on-field adjustments, the Premier League is pushing for greater openness around officiating. For the first time, the full written verdicts of the Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel — which reviews contentious referee and VAR calls each week — will be made public. Previously these assessments were shared only privately with clubs and officials, despite frequently leaking.
Fans will also gain access to direct quotes from referees and VARs explaining their reasoning, published via the Premier League's Match Centre channels, replacing the more generic summaries used in the past. In addition, RefCam broadcasts will now include audio of officials communicating with players during matches, though not with VAR, and this feature will be used sparingly — once or twice per round of fixtures.
The KMI Panel, made up of five members including former players, coaches and representatives from the Premier League and referees' body Pro Ref, reviews every major decision from the previous week's matches. Its findings also help determine referees' performance-related pay. According to figures reviewed by the BBC, VAR errors rose to 25 last season from 18 the year before, though both totals remain well below the 31 and 38 errors recorded in 2023-24 and 2022-23 respectively.
The Premier League says it will continue lobbying football's rule-making body, IFAB, to allow further disclosure of VAR conversations, though live broadcasting of those discussions remains prohibited for now.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport and BBC Sport.