Premier League rule changes for the new season

Watching Sheffield Wednesday vs Southampton, it looks like time-wasting is definitely going to be punished this season. Six minutes added on in the first half, and nine in the second.

I'm not sure the added time will make much difference to behaviour. There is an awful lot of “flow disruption” used by savvy opponents at the right times. They know when tails are up, and they'll play a game to slow it. For more technically gifted teams than ours, it returns an advantage to then that's cancelled at 100 mph times.

Some might say it's clever. But for me players who are okay, going down 2-3 times in a row is ridiculous and cheating when 5 mins later they're clearly fine. Booking or removing from pitch for “enforced recuperation of 5 mins” might stop it more than adding time on at the end. Both will unfortunately net the occasional real injury but, for me, that's on the heads of the cheats.

Gary, I think behaviour comes down to officials stamping it out.

Players play their part. They have to be honest. This should be coached into them.

The amount of times I hear so called expert pundits quote "If you give that, you'll be giving it every week".

No. If they enforce and carry out the rightful action, players will soon learn not to act.

Harry Kane's reaction to a tap on the face by Doucoure was pathetic, and I'm being kind. He reacted like he'd been hit by a left hook from Tony Bellew.

Gamesmanship or playing the game? Gobshite was my assessment.

But it comes down to having officials who can actually enforce the rules, be logical in their decisions, and not be starstruck. Had that been the other way around, Kane gets a telling-off and Doucouré a yellow for play-acting.

Sorry to go on, but take a leaf out of the Rugby Union book. Open, honest and competency from the officials who know the game. Not shrouded in secrecy but open on live communication as to why they made a decision.

When you analyze it, Gary, you could probably treat a player on the pitch like they do in Rugby, and just let the game carry on. The player becomes dead, meaning he's not keeping anyone onside etc, and the game can be allowed to just flow?

I watch the highlights of the goals being scored during the women's World Cup on the BBC website and, although nothing has really changed, I'm sure a lot of people will be happy that the ref is now telling everyone verbally if a goal is to be given or disallowed once it's been looked at by the VAR, Danny. Although it's still nothing like Rugby, which is a very open and transparent sport, with regards to officiating.

I'd agree with treating players on the pitch Tony.

I would also like to see the sin bin introduce. A cooler for players to calm down, rather than have them booked or sent off.

I’ve been wanting to see a sin-bin, for a couple of years now, Danny, and the first people I would punish would be the divers. When cheating becomes acceptable, then I believe the sport has got major problems, and football is definitely in this category.

Ex-players who would have once been outraged at being cheated now sit in the television studio telling us a player has got a right to go down? You couldn’t make some of this shite up but, until referees have to explain themselves, then they have always got their friends in the media to help them.

I’d like to see the sin bin introduced too, for me it’s when there is no doubt about the unfair and potentially dangerous play.

For instance, last week McNeil is attacking from midfield and twice he was hacked down from behind to stop him. The Stoke players got yellows, which is right. But I don’t buy into this badge of honour “take one for the team” nonsense, like it’s an act of medal deserving bravery.

It spoils the game, negates skill and verve that we all want to see. Stick these players into the sin bin for 10 minutes, as well as a yellow, at least it will make them think twice.

I watched the game last night, and it didn't seem particularly stop-start, although I wasn't fully paying attention to it, but the amount of added time is becoming a farce.

There should be an independent time-keeper within the stadium, who following a signal from the officials can keep track of the time played and then end each half with a hooter, independent of the officials on the park.

As for sin-bins, no thanks, that will mean many of the top clubs will escape punishment more often and the lesser clubs will be down to ten men more often in a game. Added time suits those clubs too, as they have better quality subs.

I wonder if the 10,000 m could be extended to 11,500 m because the officials believe that the competitors are dawdling in certain parts of the race?

That’s the other side of the argument, Barry, with the one main difference between the two sports being transparency?

We are all lunatics because we believe the top teams get a lot more leeway off the officials, with this also helped massively by the ex-players in the television studio. How hard would it be to interview referees after a game, which would surely help to build up consistent standards right across the board regardless of who they might be officiating?

It also wouldn’t surprise me to see a third half sometime in the future, if adding a lot more minutes into injury time becomes normal?

The broadcasters would not like it - but officials to explain after the game but no cross questioning during the interview and no comment in the studio. Just the facts as the referee saw it.

I personally don’t think it would work Phil, because if you took the controversy away, then a lot of people would quickly begin to realize that at least 60% of televised games are actually quite boring?

Seems to be likely that games will have more added time, both for half time and before full time. I really can't understand why we have never adopted the system they use in rugby when the ref says stop the clock for infringements. So, rather than the ref having to be the sole arbiter of time, it's up on the clock for everybody to see.

Certainly Pickford was one of the biggest time wasters last season; problem with Pickford is he isn't clever enough to try and disguise his time-wasting.

Still no intention to show the fans in the stadium when a goal is being adjudicated by the VAR. I can't think of another sport where the fans in the stadium are the only ones not allowed to see what everybody else can.

And next week a list will be published of clubs to whom this doesn't apply but thought to be about half a dozen.

Great to know the Offside Rule has been 'clarified' by consolidating the words of last season's rule change that caused so much confusion, and rendering it into Law.

Gawd help us.

"The Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules and the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) Rules are both financial regulations aimed at promoting financial stability within football clubs, but they have some key differences:

1. Scope and applicability: The Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules are specific to clubs in the English Premier League, while the UEFA FFP Rules apply to clubs participating in UEFA competitions.

2. Breakeven requirement: The Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules require clubs to report a maximum aggregate loss over a three-year period. The loss threshold varies depending on the club's ownership structure. On the other hand, the UEFA FFP Rules require clubs to break even over a three-year period.

3. Timeframe: The Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules assess a club's financial performance over a rolling three-year period, while the UEFA FFP Rules consider a specific three-year monitoring period.

4. Monitoring and sanctions: The monitoring and enforcement of the rules differ between the two systems. In the Premier League, clubs submit regular financial reports to be monitored by the league. Violations may result in fines, transfer bans, or points deductions. In the case of UEFA FFP, independent auditors verify clubs' financial reports, and non-compliant clubs can face punishments like fines, European competition bans, or points deductions.

5. Owner investment: The UEFA FFP Rules encourage clubs to operate with self-sustainability and limit excessive owner investment. This means club owners cannot inject unlimited funds without considering the club's revenues. The Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules do not have similar strict restrictions on owner investment.

6. Reporting mechanisms: The reporting requirements for both sets of rules differ. The Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules focus on financial accounts, including salary commitments and transfer activity. The UEFA FFP Rules cover various aspects, including the club's income, expenses, sponsorship deals, and transfer dealings.

It's important to note that while there are similarities between these rules, there are also unique aspects to each system. Football governing bodies continually monitor and update these rules to promote financial stability and fair competition within the sport."

Michael is right there are differences between the Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules and the Ueafa FFP rules.Danny is also correct the insist in discussion that the correct Rules are discussed.The Ueafa FFP rules do not apply to Everton.

It is interesting that the Premier League made two rule additions to Profit and Sustainability Rules regarding Associated Sponsorship, to prevent ' unfair advantage' and that FFP rules on Finance were changed, making a even bigger difference with Profit and Sustainability rules.

I have always felt that Ancelotti's failed European attempt, which caused him to finish out of top 8 in any league in his career, was because Everton did not want to be under FFP rules, such is the difference.I also think that Everton's delayed Commission is more to do with politics than any rules and will result in a fudge. We are already half way their with the delay.

The truth is that any protesting Club is in the Championship and the Premier League and the Football League won't want Clubs suing one another whilst in different Leagues.Actually there were probably celebrations in the Football Leagues Head office in Preston when Everton avoided relegation.I know a Accountant that works there and they did not want Everton in the Championship and were fully supportive of how the Premier League were dealing with Everton.

I'm afraid all of the above player antics and time wasting could simply be reduced by referees actually doing their job and enforcing the rules. Time waste, get booked, do it again and you're off. Simple as.

Shouldnt matter what player or manager complains about it, just book them all until the message gets through. It's pathetic that a system has always been in place to irradicate time-wasting (yellow and red cards) yet because allowances, lazy refs and fear of repercussions from angry managers, we're being left with 100-minute games.

Guess how many Top 6 teams are going to get late winners this season.