EFL referees given new instructions on fouls, time wasting and player behaviour

EFL referees have been given new instructions to be more strict on fouls, time wasting and player behaviour ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Officials will be told to increase their threshold of fouls, cut down on those who run the clock down and ensure behaviour from footballers don’t overstep the mark.

The PA news agency understands the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the governing body of match officials in England, is committed to making the EFL a better product for the forthcoming campaign, which gets under way this weekend.

It has worked with clubs, the English Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and League Managers Association (LMA) to make sure the key decisions made are acceptable to everyone in the game.

Officials have been instructed to adopt a higher threshold for penalising contact in challenges, taking into account how much contact there was, the consequences of it and what the attacking player’s motivation was. They will also be more careful watching for possible danger or difficulties of sustained holding at set-pieces.

After the 2021-22 campaign saw less playing time than ever before, referees will also be more proactive in curbing time-wasting and will be prepared to sanction players early on in the game. Participation behaviour will also be managed to ensure incidents of dissent and other poor behaviour are stamped out.

As well as the introduction of five substitutions this season, there is also a minor law change which sees goalkeepers now allowed to have one foot behind the goalline during a spot kick being taken.

Although last season’s playoff finals at Wembley had video assistant referee (VAR), the decision-review system won’t be in place for the forthcoming campaign. The PGMOL is on a FIFA Working Group to help develop ‘VAR Light’ and its possible use, and that would be offered to the EFL if collectively the clubs in each division vote to implement it.

That wouldn’t be a quick thing to happen, though, with around 12 months needed to set it up, get it in grounds, have the officials for it etc. The EFL campaign kicks off on Friday as Huddersfield play host to Burnley in the Championship.

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Fans reacted with EFL referees given new instructions on fouls, time wasting and player behaviour…

@Pandamonium1881: Makes you laugh. Clamp down on time wasting? The laws are the same so why not do it last season or season before. In fact all these are the same FFS! No law changes.

@ltfc_bible: how about better referees first

@cafemambochris: I’ll believe it when i see it.

@R_J_M_11: Oxford wont be happy

@NathanielOUFC: Ipswich fans obsessed with the mighty Oxford I see 💉💉💉

@MarkBJohnson33: Will that stop goalkeepers going down pretending to be injured after 20 minutes so the rest of the team can get a team talk? 🤔

@GJohnson2022: @wwfcofficial dislike this

@Streetyx3: Now going to start booking time-wasting keepers in the 88th minute instead of the 91st after doing it all game.

@glendvd100: only about 4 years too late for us.

@georgewoods42: EFL refs arent good enough to clamp down on it

@dharvey4: Luton won’t have any players left by the 3rd game.

@alexpafc7: RIP @wwfcofficial

@mendipgreen: @pillow2274 oh dear…Wycombe in the mud

@Connor98PFC: @wwfcofficial now crying

@stevedarney: The Wycombe comments 😂😂😂 … love living rent free 😃🏠 …

@NJW70: Good! There has been very little dissent in the Womens’ Euros due to the refs being told to give yellow cards for it!

@stevehales18: I will believe it when I see it. Why don’t referees caution players for this and even if they occasionally do caution for time wasting then it’s in the 90th minute.

@michelle_jevons: That’s Salford unhappy then

@andymortby: Concentrate on the Refs performance first

@JacobKirkbride: Come to the stadium of light and they’ll be dishing out cards more than a poker dealer

@DHLlamanga: The law says the goalkeeper can only hold the ball for 6 seconds before he must play it. Has anyone ever seen a goalkeeper penalised for holding the ball for more than 6 seconds. No, me neither. Just enact the laws that already exist and not just for the first three matches.

@mdavisontafc: Wycombe and Oxford are in trouble 😬.

@Jimmiiiil: Fgr mudded

@Mikey_Robs_91: How will Wycombe cope

@AlLockhart1: Believe it when I see it? Will a ref book a GK after 20 minutes for deliberate time wasting? GKs know they will never 2 bookings in a match

@gazk_mackem: We have had it done to us for the last 4 years and all they have to do is just stop the clock when the ball goes out for a goal kick and when somebody goes down injured or a substitution is taking place. And while I am at it, why does the clock still run when VAR is been checked?

@mancgas: While they are at it, if a player screams really loudly and there’s no visible sign of injury it should be an automatic yellow card. Happening 10-15 times a game. We all know if you’re really hurt 99/100 you have no breath, let alone a scream, in you

@GrahamPark15: Here we go another season of confused nonsense and lack of consistency 😡

@Llewcalon: About bloody time! So many time wasters in the Championship. The amount of times Cov played teams last season that deliberately wasted time in order to slow the game down. One team began time wasting in the 15th minute. All because they knew we played fast attacking football.

@guest_richard: It would be even better if they just concentrated on doing their jobs. Any news on those two stone wall penalties from the playoff final yet? 🤦‍♂️😂

@billyg2107: Beware wycombe and plymouth

@RyanSkyBlue1: I hope this is true because it will benefit #ccfc #PUSB big time!!! And from what I saw last season it’s going to hinder teams like Blackburn, Preston, Millwall all teams that try and time waste and stifle good passing flowing football and stop the game every 2 seconds 🙄

@ltfcdan: Wycombe are shitting themselves as we speak

@Perry_PFC: Wycombe are fucked then

@domino123467: How about clamping down on really poor referees because most of em are.

@Zigiclegend19: Can you clamp down on being absolutely appalling referees as well then please?

@rokerite97: Wycombe are absolutely fucked if they fix time wasting properly. They won’t know how to cope with playing more than 30 mins of actual football per game.

@BloozExtra: EFL referees are amongst the worst in modern football. Quite literally the worst officiating I’ve ever seen in football. Lost count of how many points blues have lost out on due to inept and clueless EFL refs yet somehow we’ve still managed to survive the drop several times 😂