The Premier League’s new season begins on Friday night with referees instructed to take a much firmer stance on holding, pushing and grappling at set-pieces.
Champions Arsenal host promoted Coventry in the opening fixture, with officials across the top flight entering the campaign under clear new guidance.
Holding, pushing, shoving, jostling and grappling inside the penalty area became something of an epidemic in English football’s top division last season.
Everton boss David Moyes captured the frustration felt by many after a fractious game against Manchester United in February, criticising officials for their reluctance to act.
“You get the feeling now that referees really don’t want to get involved in any of it,” Moyes said. “It’s really poor that they’ve not tried to deal with it.”
The issue was thrust further into the spotlight when West Ham had a goal disallowed against Arsenal in May, with up to five potential fouls occurring simultaneously.
Set-pieces, player conduct and officiating standards became a central topic when captains, coaches, referees and other stakeholders were consulted over the summer.
Howard Webb, the Premier League’s referees’ chief, has been clear about what he expects from officials heading into the new campaign.
“We’re trying to get the officials to be as confident as they can be to penalise what they see,” Webb said. “So fewer warnings, more actions penalised, and if there’s any reduction in offences being penalised it should be a result of a modification of player behaviour rather than us no longer applying it.”
Referees will now focus specifically on holding actions that have a clear material impact, covering the Premier League, the English Football League and the Women’s Super League.
Officials will target defenders whose back is to the ball and whose only intention is to prevent an attacker’s movement, penalising that as a non-footballing action.
Of the 20 missed VAR interventions last season, a quarter were penalties not awarded when a player had been wrestled to the ground off the ball.
Specific behaviours that will be penalised include only focusing on an opponent rather than the ball, making no attempt to challenge for it, holding with both arms, and sustained or impactful grappling of a player or their clothing.
Players have already been shown examples of incidents that would now result in penalties, including Brentford’s Keane Lewis-Potter wrestling West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien dragging down Leeds United’s Pascal Struijk with an arm around the neck.
Webb acknowledged that opinions on borderline incidents can divide even players at the same club, citing Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi being pulled down by Bournemouth’s Bafode Diakite as one such example.
“One player will tell you that if a penalty is not given, they expect the VAR to be involved, knowing full well that that will highly frustrate the other half of the room, who don’t see a penalty in the first place,” Webb said.
Pre-game dossiers compiled by analysts at Pro Ref continue to be provided to officials, giving referees advance information on how teams set up at set-pieces.
“It gives them a higher likelihood of looking in the right place at the right time,” Webb said, adding that the process is not about pre-judging individuals but about positioning and preparation.
The Premier League recorded 269 set-piece goals last season, excluding penalties and direct free-kicks, with set-pieces accounting for a record 25.7 percent of all goals scored, the highest figure across Europe’s top leagues.
Arsenal led the way with 25 set-piece goals scored and just seven conceded, while Manchester United contributed 21 and Tottenham Hotspur netted 19 despite their difficult campaign.
Liverpool were the most vulnerable defensively, conceding a league-high 19 times from set-pieces, followed by Chelsea and Newcastle on 17, meaning the new approach could significantly reshape results.
Webb warned that if grappling tactics continue to develop in ways that make the game difficult to officiate, more significant measures may ultimately be considered.
“If we start penalising offences, players have to adjust their tactics,” Webb said. “And then those kind of situations reduce in number.”
The familiar concern remains that referees will enforce stricter standards in the opening weeks before standards gradually slip back to where they were before.
