New Premier League rule changes for 2023-24: What do fans need to know?
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The new Premier League season will see some subtle rule changes and tweaks. The rule changes are aimed to prevent some of the confusion and issues caused in recent campaigns. So far, none of the rule changes for next season are about VAR.
Four rules have been altered, with goalkeepers and offside getting some of the focus from the Premier League. Will the changes make a difference in confusion and anger from fans, managers, and players? It is doubtful.
Offside
Although a new element to the offside law was made last season, it was only recently put into the actual Laws of the Game. The last says, “A player who is clearly offside should not become onside on every occasion when an opponent moves and touches the ball.”
The rule applies to whether a defender has played a ball or deflected it to a player who is standing offside. The wording is incredibly vague. So, in the end, it will come down to the referee’s discretion.
The rule isn’t as drastic and black and white as Arsene Wenger’s proposal. The former Arsenal manager proposed a rule that an attack should only be offside if he scores with part of his body that was in the offside position.
Behaviour
The change to behaviour provides more vagueness and referee discretion. From this season, a player may not receive a booking if the referee believes the player made an actual attempt to win the ball. The rule could see fewer cards handed out.
One example of how this rule will change the game is in penalties. If a player concedes a penalty with a bad tackle, the referee doesn’t have to give out a booking if he believes the player attempts a legitimate tackle. It seems like referees already did that.
The Emi Martinez rule
Emiliano Martinez’s antics have spoiled things for the rest of the world’s goalkeepers. Goalkeepers are banned from playing mind games with penalty-takers. There is no more point to a spot or trash-talking. Penalty takers have been given even more of an advantage over goalies.
Keepers cannot delay penalties either. Referees can punish goalies for kicking the posts or hitting the crossbar. This is a complete downer, as goalkeepers now have even less of a chance of saving penalties.
Added time
In addition to clamping down on goalkeepers, football authorities want to take the fun out of scoring goals. Referees can now add time to the game to make up for excessive goal celebrations.
Although this is now an official rule, it seemed that just about everyone believed this was the case before. Perhaps it is just the case of the rule being actually put in place.
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