The 2026-27 season will feature an unprecedented number of new laws, mostly designed to tackle tempo disruption and make the game quicker. These rules were all initially rolled out at the World Cup, but still caused confusion in the first round of the Carabao Cup last weekend. These changes will be deployed across English football, from Sunday's Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester City, to the Premier League and right down to Sunday league - apart from the video assistant referee (VAR), of course.
The idea is to cut out those moments which cause supporters real frustration, and get more football played without adding on loads of stoppage time. It worked at the World Cup. In Qatar in 2022, the ball was in play for an average of 58 minutes three seconds, or 56.86% of the total match time.
This summer, it was 58 minutes 16 seconds but there was far less added time, meaning the ball was in play for 60.43%. The changes are intended to change player behaviour, rather than be applied as a strict punishment. However, they could be seen as a negative for teams who were used to using the dark arts to run down the clock and hold on to a result.
Here is what you need to look out for and how the new laws will work. This is about players who deliberately delay the restart of play, so a countdown does not begin as soon as the ball goes out. Any tactic which can be judged as disrupting play - including leaving the ball on a cone and dropping the ball for a team-mate - could trigger a countdown.
The referee will blow the whistle to tell the player to hurry up, and to signal the start of the five seconds, while they will visibly make a count by moving an arm up and down. If the time runs out, the referee will blow the whistle again and give the throw to the other team, although the new rules will not cover long throws, as these are considered to be set-piece routines. And as a deterrent to goalkeepers who take a long time over goal-kicks towards the end of games, he can now give the opposition a corner instead if the keeper takes too long.
Substituted players have 10 seconds to leave the field at the nearest point. If they fail to do so, the substitute cannot enter the field for at least one minute and the team must play with 10 players. Middlesbrough's Will Lankshear was the first to be punished in the Carabao Cup tie against Wrexham.
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