The Premier League’s rule book is set to be given a slight tweak ahead of the new season and Liverpool boss Arne Slot might be among those thrilled at the changes
Premier League bosses will have to learn THREE new law changes ahead of the 2025-26 season after organisers confirmed some pretty major tweaks. Preparations for the new campaign are already well underway.
All 20 Premier League clubs start their seasons over the next week, with reigning champions Liverpool kicking off the new campaign on Friday as they welcome Bournemouth to Anfield.
Pre-season friendlies and transfers have both been high on the agenda as the season approaches. And while that is set to continue – with the window open for another three weeks – work has also had to be put into learning some new laws of the game.
The Premier League have announced three major tweaks that both managers and players will have to be aware of. But what has actually changed? Mirror Football takes a look at how the new rules could potentially look in practice…
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Goalkeepers time wasting
Gone are the days of goalkeepers just simply holding onto the ball to kill time at the end of a game. There was previously a rule where goalkeepers would be under a time limit of six seconds and should they not release the ball then an indirect free kick would be given – albeit it was rarely enforced.
But the Premier League have toughened up their approach. The time limit has actually increased to eight seconds but the referee will now warn goalkeepers with a five-second countdown.
And should they fail to release the ball before that timer expires then a corner would be awarded to the opposing team. That news will be music to the ears of Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who complained at the amount of time wasting his side faced last season.
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He said: “Teams got to know us better and tried to find answers to our playing style. But one of the things you cannot do anything about is that tactics are being used that have nothing to do with football.
“Delaying the start of the game, pretending you are injured, taking one minute for a free-kick, one minute for a throw-in. That is my main worry.
“Every time we drop points, that happened… goalkeepers taking one and a half minutes. When we have dropped points, that tactic was used. I like to say it now after us winning the league, not losing a game.”
Referees speaking to captains
After previously restricting the amount of players who could engage with referees, the Premier League have now made that rule stricter with only captains allowed to approach officials in matches this season.
Referees have the power to caution players who approach officials without permission or who show disrespectful behaviour. Should a team’s captain be their goalkeeper, then they can provide an alternative player before a game.
IFAB have suggested that this initiative is recommended but not compulsory – albeit the Premier League have chosen to adopt it. The approach was trialled in UEFA competitions last term.
Double touch penalties
The final rule revolves around penalties – specifically in a situation where a player has touched the ball twice when taking a spot kick. Should a player score a penalty and accidentally touch the ball twice then the referee would award a retake.
But the kick has to be clearly unintentional for that rule to be valid. Should the player miss, then the defending team would be given an indirect free kick.
Ex-Man City forward Julian Alvarez slipped as he took a penalty against Real Madrid last season – but due to the previous rule, it was not retaken. The new law has already been utilised at the Women’s Euros as Beth Mead slipped and touched the ball twice in the process of scoring. She was ordered to retake the penalty but saw her second effort saved by Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll.
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
