The Premier League kicks off for the 2026/7 season tomorrow night as title holders Arsenal face newly promoted Coventry City in the opener at the Emirates. It’s been 25 years since the Sky Blues have had the opportunity to face the Gunners in the top flight, with Sky Sports hosting the game at 8pm.
Fans will also get a look at the new rules and regulations being brought into the Premier League to tackle issues in the game, with time-wasting being one of the key subjects discussed over the summer.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has produced an update to the Laws of the Game, which includes rules such as higher thresholds for contact between players, the referee’s on-field calls set to stand unless a clear and obvious error is picked up by VAR, and robust measures to tackle misbehaviour on the field and in the technical area.
Time-wasting and injuries are set to have the biggest rule-change impact, with IFAB’s decision to order any player leaving the field injured to remain off the pitch for a minute, as opposed to last season’s 30 seconds. The five-second countdown is also administered for throw-ins; should a player take longer than the allotted time, the throw is then awarded to the opposition.
Goalkeeper injuries have also been reviewed, and the law changes stipulate that should a goalkeeper go down with an injury, the team’s manager must nominate an outfield player to leave the field for a minute after the restart of play. The Premier League’s match officials organisation, ‘Pro Ref’, said of the new ruling: “It is designed to address occasions where goalkeeper injuries have been used to disrupt momentum, slow the game down or create opportunities for tactical instruction.”
Substitutes are also being ordered to leave the field within 10 seconds of the match being paused to allow a replacement onto the pitch. Should the time limit be exceeded, the substitute coming onto the field cannot enter for a further minute, at least before the next stoppage in play. Substitutes generally leave the field at the nearest outer line on the pitch, with this rule remaining in place, only with the official time limit now active.
Stoppage time has crept up massively, with games regularly lasting over 10 minutes past the 90. These new measures are potentially good for fans being able to catch an earlier bus or train, but not so much for the scoring of late goals. There were 76 goals scored last season in stoppage time, compared to 68 in the 2024/25 season, across an average game time of 100 minutes and 20 seconds last season against 99.56 minutes in the 2024/25 campaign.
Referees can rest assured that they will have no TikTok memes created of audible red-card decisions for players covering their mouths. The rule adopted at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will not be a part of the Premier League rulebook for the 2026/7 season.
Image Credit: Ank Kumar