Premier League referees crack down on penalty area grappling at set-pieces
Premier League referees have been instructed to strictly penalise holding and grappling inside the penalty area during set-pieces ahead of the new season.
Pushing, shoving, and wrestling during corners became a widespread epidemic across the English top flight throughout the previous campaign.
Former Everton manager David Moyes voiced his intense frustration after a highly contentious fixture against Manchester United in February.
“You get the feeling now that referees really don’t want to get involved in any of it. It’s really poor that they’ve not tried to deal with it.”
A major turning point arrived in May when a disallowed West Ham goal against Arsenal highlighted up to five simultaneous potential fouls in the box.
Targeting non-footballing actions
League stakeholders, including captains and coaches, heavily debated the escalating issue during summer consultations.
Match officials will now begin the new campaign by actively clamping down on clear non-footballing actions that disrupt play.
The official rulebook remains unchanged, but the English Football League and the Women’s Super League will join the top tier in shifting their behavioural focus.
Referees are now mandated to identify holding actions that have a clear material impact on the flow of the game.
Eliminating off-the-ball wrestling
Primary attention will be given to individuals deliberately preventing opponents from making a legitimate play for the ball.
Last season, a quarter of the 20 missed VAR interventions involved penalties that should have been awarded for off-the-ball wrestling.
Match officials will specifically target defenders exhibiting the following behaviours:
- Focusing entirely on the opponent rather than tracking the ball.
- Making zero attempt to legitimately challenge for possession.
- Wrapping both arms around an opposing player.
- Sustained pulling of an opponent’s shirt or body.
Proactive refereeing directives
Defenders who turn their backs to an incoming set-piece purely to block an attacker’s movement will now immediately concede a foul.
Howard Webb, the referees’ chief, expects his team to be highly proactive in enforcing these updated standards.
“We’re trying to get the officials to be as confident as they can be to penalise what they see. 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.”
While the recent international tournament in Qatar demonstrated a successful reduction in corner grappling, the domestic game will retain its traditionally higher threshold for physical contact.
“Contact is still part of the game, we still maintain the high threshold,” Webb added.
Goalkeepers will not receive absolute protection from minor bumps unless they are actively prevented from participating in the phase of play.
However, restrictive tactics aimed at the arms of a goalkeeper, such as those deployed against the Spanish shot-stopper David Raya last season, will be swiftly punished.