Premier League: 7 rule changes ahead of the 22/23 season | OneFootball

The 2022/23 Premier League season is now just under three weeks away.

Crystal Palace play host to Arsenal in the opening fixture of the competition’s 31st campaign on Friday August 5th – and you might notice a few things that seem a little odd during that contest.

This is because both the Premier League and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have tweaked their rules over the summer.

One change the Premier League has adopted which should go down well with fans everywhere is a new system to try and reduce the amount of time-wasting during top-flight matches.

Last season, the average ‘ball-in-play’ time in the Premier League was the lowest it has been in more than a decade – at only 55 minutes and three seconds per match. Understandably, league chiefs are keen to improve that figure this time around.

The Premier League’s new ‘multi-ball’ initiative

Per the Daily Mail, the Premier League has given the green light to a new multi-ball system, with ten match balls in use at each match.

“One ball will be in play, one with the fourth official and eight will be placed at various points around the pitch on cones. Two will be behind each goal and two along each touchline. Those behind the goal must be positioned such that they do not interfere with the Hawk-Eye goal decision system,” explain the Mail.

Those involved have been instructed to pass the ball directly to players as soon as they make eye contact and must also do so at the same speed for both teams.

Fans pay to see action. Less time wasted at throw-ins, goal-kicks and other set pieces can only be positive for the overall spectacle of the Premier League.

Five substitutes per match

During the pandemic, sides were temporarily allowed to make five substitutes in a match.

Originally designed to alleviate stress on squads during the COVID-enforced stoppage of 2020, this has now been made a permanent rule in the Premier League and EFL.

Goalkeeper positioning for penalty kicks

Previously, the laws of the game dictated that a goalkeeper must keep at least one foot on the line when facing a penalty.

This is no longer the case, as ‘keepers are now allowed to start with that one foot behind the line.

The change will make it possible for goalkeepers to start from a deeper position and generate greater momentum when attempting to make a save.

Only the goalkeeper can handle the ball in the area

Something the world already knew, but yet somehow wasn’t written clearly in the rules of the game.

The IFAB have sorted this out, with their laws now stating that nobody “except a goalkeeper within their penalty area” can handle the ball.

When players lose control

We all hope that we never again have to witness a player physically involved attacking a fan like Eric Cantona did at Crystal Palace in 1995.

However, should “a player leave the pitch to assault an ‘outside agent’ in future, the referee must restart the match with an indirect free-kick to the opposing team.

Before now, there has been nothing written into the laws of the game to explain how to proceed after such an incident.

The referee is now the official coin tosser

There has always been a coin toss before each match to decide which team would kick off. However, previously, anyone could have tossed that coin.

A mascot, a team physio, the bloke working at the burger stand; there was no official rule stating that the match referee needed to be the individual to flip the coin.

The working of the rule has now been changed by the IFAB so that the responsibility falls solely on the lead official.

Team officials can be sent-off during penalty shoot-outs

Not a rule that will affect the Premier League this season (unless we end up in a highly unlikely play-off scenario to determine a finishing position), but something that could impact the EFL play-offs come the end of the campaign.

Should a manager, coach, or another team representative commit an offence during a penalty shoot-out, then referees now have the power to give them their marching orders.