The new Premier League season is here! What felt like an endless
wait has finally come to an end and we finally get to see our favorite
English teams compete for the most coveted prize yet again.
But this time around, it is not business as usual.
This Premier League season will be a little different from the previous ones
because there have been some rule changes. Today, we check out some of those changes.
Here are 5 new Premier League rules that will be implemented for the first time this season.
1. 5 subs
The Premier League refused to upgrade the number of substitutions allowed in a single game last
season even though virtually every other leagues and competitions did. Even the FA Cup and EFL Cup
competitions in England did, but the English clubs voted against it for the Premier League.
Anyway, they have finally come around, and from this season,
we will see teams be able to make a maximum of 5 changes in a single game
as opposed to the maximum of 3 they were allowed to make in previous seasons.
In fact, it has already started being implemented
as we saw in the Community Shield game between Manchester City and Liverpool.
2. Goalkeeper’s position for penalty
Prior to this season, the goalkeeper was required to have, at least,
one foot on the goal line at the time that the penalty was dispatched. Now, the rule has been
adjusted so that goalkeepers can now have their feet behind the line when the penalty is played.
So now, the rule is, when the penalty is kicked, the goalkeeper must have, at least,
a part of one of his feet on or behind the goal line. Now, the keepers can choose to
stand behind the line to gather enough momentum to make a good dive towards the ball.
3. More match balls
From this season, there will now be 10 balls in and around the pitch during a Premier League game.
This is to ensure that delays that occur when the ball goes out of play are cut down.
There will be one ball with the 4th official, 2 balls behind each goalline, 2 along either side
of the touchline, and obviously, 1 ball on the field of play. The ball boys will be instructed
to throw a new ball into the pitch immediately once one goes out of play. And the speed should
be the same for both teams, too, so no one side has an unfair advantage over the other.
Hm. It would be interesting to see if the ball boys still abide by this when the home team has
a lead or a point to protect and is trying to waste time towards the end of the game.
4. New offside rule
Here’s what the new FIFA and IFAB offside rule is basically trying to effect:
“a player who is clearly in an offside position should not become
‘onside’ on all occasions when an opponent moves and touches the ball”
So, basically, an attacker who was in an offside position can’t just become onside
because the ball touched an opposing defender on its way to him. Now, the defender would have to
be deemed to have control of the ball with the possibility of passing to a teammate.
So, for example,
that Mbappe goal that won France the Nations League won’t have stood under these new rules.
In fact, it was that very goal that took FIFA and IFAB back to the drawing board to fix the “bug”.
It is because of this fix that Benzema’s goal in
the Champions League final against Liverpool this year was disallowed.
5. What happens when players go berserk?
Remember what Eric Cantona did to that fan in that game against Crystal Palace back in ‘95? Oh,
you weren’t even born then, were you? Well, here’s what he did. After he was sent off and while he
was walking off the pitch, he suddenly turned around to give a fan in the stands a flying kick.
Now, the rule is not whether his card would have been doubled or not,
it’s just…how do you restart the game after something like that?
That wasn’t a foul against an opponent, so how is the game restarted?
Well, the new rule states that:
“If a player leaves the pitch to assault an ‘outside agent’,
the referee must restart the match with an indirect free-kick to the opposing team.”
This is the first time that a rule catering to a situation like that
has been created. So, in some way, this is a pioneer season.
We don’t hope for something as chaotic or as violent as that this season, but it is just a
little comforting to know that, if it happens, the referee knows exactly what to do next.
Anyway, what new rule are you most excited for this new season and which do you think will cause
the biggest changes in the Premier League? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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Catch you in the next one. Bye!