The English Premier League season begins on Friday with defending champions Manchester City travelling to Burnley. There will be several new rules this time, each designed to weed out the faults that currently exist within football and to improve the sport as a whole for fans, players and officials.
Following are some of the new rules:
More game time
The Qatar World Cup was notorious for adding huge amounts of stoppage time at the end of both halves. And it seems like the EPL will be getting a similar experience too. Starting this season, time will be added to the end of a game for any seconds that are wasted by a team’s prolonged goal celebrations, substitutions, or injury delays. The clock will be paused from when play stops until it resumes.
Technical area
Only one staff member is allowed to stand, provided they remain next to their seat; any conversations between the two standing individuals should occur near the bench.
Offside rule
The offside rule sees a significant change this season. “A player who is clearly offside should not become onside on every occasion when an opponent moves and touches the ball.” This modification, introduced last summer, has now been formally integrated into the laws of the game.
Winter break
The English Premier League will have a two-week winter break this season between January and February next year, to allow players and managers to relax a bit halfway into the season.
The writer is an intern with The Telegraph
