The upcoming Premier League season will introduce some intriguing rule changes as the top-flight returns. Liverpool and Bournemouth are set to kick off a fresh season on Friday evening, with Anfield ready for the reigning champions' seasonal debut.
Arne Slot's Reds, who have splashed out nearly £300million this summer, are expected to go well, but the Cherries – last season's surprise package – won't be easy opponents. Fans tuning in for the first match of the new season will notice more than just new faces, as alterations to the game's laws have been implemented. Express Sport provides an overview of all the latest rule tweaks ahead of the new campaign, including a 'daft' new goalkeeping law and a significant broadcasting addition.
Goalkeeper time-wasting clamp down
The most notable rule change for the forthcoming Premier League season concerns the amount of time goalkeepers can hold onto the ball. A new eight-second limit has been imposed on goalkeepers handling the football.
Referees will now give the player a five-second countdown when they have control of the ball. If they haven't released it before the eight-second limit, the opposing team will be awarded a corner. This fresh regulation has been introduced in a bid to reduce time-wasting.
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has slammed the rule, branding it 'daft tinkering.' Writing for The Sun, she stated: "What was wrong with the old rule which gave keepers six seconds to release, with punishment in the form of an indirect free-kick? Beats me. It was hardly ever enforced anyway.
"The purpose of this newest change is to cut down on time-wasting but how can extending possession from six to eight seconds do that? And also the fact that the 'old' rule was almost never imposed surely means it was a good rule."
Cameras in dressing rooms
Another radical alteration has been implemented to Premier League broadcasting, with access now granted inside home changing rooms and players made available for interviews at half-time or following substitution.
With Sky Sports screening 215 top-flight fixtures this season, television improvements have been introduced, and broadcasters will now receive unparalleled access to personnel and players. From the new campaign, both Sky and TNT Sports will be permitted to gain insight into home dressing rooms, though the club can refuse access if they are losing.
Should the club decline, then they will be required to accommodate another request later in the season. Each club will only provide access twice throughout the season, and it's up to the home side to decide whether audio can be recorded. Broadcasters must provide clubs with five days' notice if they wish to record inside the dressing room, and a response is required 72 hours before kick-off.
Players can now be interviewed after they've been substituted and at half-time. A request for a half-time interview must be submitted to the club 24 hours before kick-off, and a shortlist of five names must be provided no later than the 40th minute of the game. Any interviews conducted before the match has finished must be 'positive', and in-match interviews with substituted players or managers cannot take place before the 85th minute. No more than two questions will be asked during these interviews.
Captains only
According to a guideline approved by law-makers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), only the club's captains can approach the referee during a match.
Yellow cards can be issued to players who do not have permission to speak to the match official, as referees crack down on disrespectful players. If the captain is a goalkeeper, another outfield player can be nominated to converse with the official.
Penalty change
Those who watched the Lionesses' triumphant Euro 2025 victory over Spain will be familiar with a new rule introduced regarding penalties. England's Beth Mead was permitted to re-take her opening spot kick after she unintentionally touched the ball twice, and this rule will be implemented universally from this campaign.
Interfering with play
Another new regulation will penalise a team if a player who is not currently on the pitch, a substitute or a coach touches the ball before it goes out of play. If this happens, the opposing team will be awarded an indirect free kick. This also applies to players who have been sent off.