VAR has successfully weathered the Wolves' bid to remove it at the Premier League’s annual general meeting and will be back for another season.
This year, the focus is on reinforcing the "referee’s call" principle. The Premier League wants VAR to intervene on subjective decisions only when the on-field call is unmistakably and evidently incorrect, based on the available evidence.
Efforts to improve communications are also underway. Screens and graphics explaining why a goal has been overturned will continue to be displayed on stadium big screens. Additionally, this season, goals disallowed on the field and confirmed by VAR, as well as goals where there was a delay in checking an incident, will also be shown.
The league has introduced a new X account – @PLMatchCentre – where objective updates will be provided near-live after VAR checks are complete.
Referees will continue to calculate the exact time lost to stoppages, with a slight change: The first 30 seconds after a goal will not be added to the end of a half, but any subsequent celebration time or time taken for a VAR check will be included. The league expects this to reduce match length by an average of one minute and 38 seconds.
Another time-saver will be semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), expected to cut offside check times by 31 seconds and improve accuracy compared to manually drawn VAR lines. However, the technology will not be in place at the start of the season. The league has pledged to introduce it after one of the international breaks in the autumn, likely in October.
A minor law change will now result in a yellow card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity through a handball if the handball is not deemed deliberate. Penalties will still be awarded for handball offenses inside the box.
On other handballs, referees’ chief Howard Webb acknowledges that last season saw players penalized even when their hand or arm was in a justifiable position. This season, referees will consider additional factors, such as a player’s proximity to the ball, if the arm supports the body while falling, or if the ball was deflected onto a player’s arm, causing a clear change in trajectory.
Another small law change addresses encroachment at penalties. Outfield players will only be penalized for encroachment if they impact the penalty, similar to goalkeepers. Previously, a penalty retake was ordered if any players encroached; now, referees will look for impact. If both attackers and defenders encroach but only the attacker has a meaningful impact, an indirect free kick will be awarded instead of a penalty retake.
The Premier League believes criticism of VAR from players, managers and clubs has been damaging. It has consulted on this issue during the summer and asked clubs and their staff to show restraint.
Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “We have asked (clubs) for patience in getting it right. It’s 5 years old. It does take time. Football is relatively new to technology. I think it will take a bit more time before technology truly works within football.”
Those who fail to show restraint should be aware of increased regulatory powers to address disrespectful comments.
On the pitch, the league will continue its approach to tackling dissent from last season rather than adopting the UEFA’s model, where only captains speak to referees at flashpoints. Confronting referees or showing clear disrespect will still result in a yellow card. Last season, the crackdown led to 173 yellow cards for dissent, compared to 79 in 2022-23.
The league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), under which Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points last season, remain in place. Watch for mid-January to see if any clubs breach the rules based on their 2023-24 accounts.
Clubs will also be trialing a new financial system, aiming for introduction in 2025-26. The system includes real-time monitoring to limit clubs to spending 85% of revenue on squad-related costs – 80% for those in UEFA competitions – and a top-to-bottom cap based on the smallest central handout to any club. Manchester City and Manchester United oppose the measure, while the Professional Footballers’ Association says it will resist any salary cap measures.
