Follow live coverage of Manchester United vs Fulham in the Premier League opener today
Get ready for another season of legal battles, endless debates over club finances, VAR wrath, nine-year player contracts and managerial sackings.
Yes, the Premier League is back!
After a summer that saw Spain win the European Championship, Argentina lift the Copa America, and Olympic athletes play football in Paris and other French cities, TRUE The fun returns to a screen near you. It starts at Old Trafford this evening (Friday), as Manchester United host Fulham to begin another nine months of the unscripted drama known as Barclays Pure.
There will still be 22 players on the pitch, a referee, a number of nervous managers and thousands of fans in attendance, but there have been some tweaks to the format for 2024-25.
Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton are back in the Premier League, new rules have been introduced, semi-automatic offside rules have been implemented, the ball will be kicked again, there are new faces on the bench and, for the first time since October 2015, Jurgen Klopp is no longer there.
So, without further ado, let me The athlete To guide you through what you need to know ahead of the new season…
Changes to video technology
The Premier League and PGMOL, the match officials’ organisation, admitted they lost their way with VAR last season, so they spent the summer reminding match officials, club managers and players of its importance, while also unveiling a six-point plan to improve it.
These changes focus on reducing delays in matches, in-stadium announcements of decisions, improving communication, maintaining a high threshold for VAR intervention, greater transparency and more rigorous training.
Fans inside stadiums will now be able to watch all disallowed ‘goals’ on the big stadium screens, plus a specific video if there is a delay in the restart of the match due to a goal being checked for possible offside or a potential foul. There is also a new Premier League Match Centre social media account that will relay the facts surrounding VAR decisions.
Welcome to the Premier League Match Centre X account. This page will provide live updates from Stockley Park including information direct from the VAR Hub. We will be providing near-live updates on operational matters from all matches – including clarification on refereeing and VAR.
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) August 13, 2024
The Professional Football Referees Committee launched a campaign to recruit video assistant referees over the summer, receiving interest from around 60 officials, and 12 new specialist video assistant referees will be introduced during the season.
Video assistant referees at the PGMOL base at Stockley Park have been instructed not to intervene in subjective decisions, and instead only intervene when there is a “clear and obvious error”. A new term will also be heard: “referee’s decision”. It will be used to make clear that the decision on the pitch is paramount in this process, and this should remain in place unless there is a clear and obvious error.
If the referee is sent to the pitchside monitor, the replay shown on it will be played at normal speed. Only when a contact point is made will the frames be slowed down.
Semi-automatic infiltration system introduced
Semi-automated offside technology is set to be introduced, although it will not be introduced at the start of the season as the technology is still being tested. The Premier League expects it to be introduced “after one of the autumn international breaks”, so it could be introduced in September, October or even November.
SOAT – yes, another acronym – has proven its effectiveness and efficiency, most recently at Euro 2024. Before that, it was used at the Men’s World Cup in 2022. Genius Sports, already a data partner of the Premier League, will be supplying the technology. You can read a full breakdown of what to expect from it elsewhere on The athlete.
Handball law amendment
Following feedback from players about too many penalties being given for handball last season, changes have been made to what constitutes this offence.
Handball rules have been modified (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The Premier League has warned players that not every hand or arm touching the ball is an offence, and that they are not expected to move their arms into an unnatural position behind their back to try to avoid such contact.
The ball will not be handballed if the player concerned is in a justified position or is performing a justified action; if there is a clear change in trajectory when the ball touches or bounces off the same player; or if the ball strikes the supporting arm when the player falls to the ground.
PSR alternative under trial
The current profit and sustainability rules will remain in place for this season, but a shadow system of the new regulations will be trialled before the 2025-26 season.
The non-binding system was approved by clubs at the league’s general assembly in June and will include squad cost rules and fixing rules from top to bottom. The Premier League and its clubs want to assess the system alongside UEFA’s financial regulations.
The SCR regulates on-field spending at a rate of -85 per cent- of football revenue and a club’s net profit/loss on player sales. The TBA is a de facto strict salary cap that will limit the amount any club can spend on its first-team squad to five times the amount the last-placed team in the previous Premier League season received in central media and sponsorship income.
The main difference with these new financial rules is that clubs will now be required to submit accounts twice a year, in March and October, meaning the Premier League will assess them on the basis of more up-to-date information.
The league’s proposed rule faces strong opposition from the Professional Footballers’ Association, the players’ union in England and Wales, and three of the 20 clubs – Aston Villa, Manchester City and Manchester United – voted against it in April.
The new Premier League ball (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Team news changes, mid-season break, ball and celebrations
There are some other changes.
Team news will now be released 75 minutes before kick-off, rather than an hour, while players were told last season there would be no mid-season break in 2024-25 due to the congested calendar. To help with player welfare, the Premier League will start a week later than usual this season, on the third weekend of August.
A new ball, the Nike Flight (pictured above), will also be introduced, marking the sportswear company’s 25th anniversary as the league’s official ball supplier. It’s designed to produce stronger hits and features grooves designed to reduce drag.
Another change welcomed by players is allowing a 30-second period to celebrate after a goal is scored, which will not count towards the match’s stoppage time.
Additional reporting: Caoimhi O’Neill.
go deeper
How optimistic are fans of the 20 Premier League clubs about their chances in the 2024-25 season?
(Top photo: HENRY NICHOLS/AFP via Getty Images)
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