Premier League officials have unveiled a series of new guidelines for the upcoming seasons, with a notable change concerning sanctions for hair pulling. From the 2026-27 campaign, referees will have the discretion to issue a yellow card for instances of hair pulling that do not involve excessive force or brutality. This marks a significant departure from the previous classification of hair pulling as violent conduct, which mandated a red card from the start of the 2025-26 season.
The shift in policy follows a season where three players in England's top flight were dismissed for hair pulling incidents. Under the updated directives, a red card will still be shown where there is a clear and deliberate action to pull an opponent's hair with excessive force and/or brutality, ensuring serious infractions are still met with severe punishment. The Premier League's announcement on Friday detailed these revised refereeing priorities, which emerged from discussions with the Game Improvement Advisory Group (GIAG).
Beyond the hair pulling amendment, several other directives are set to be implemented. Referees will place a heightened focus on penalising holding actions by defenders during corners, particularly when a player is clearly only focused on an opponent with an impactful holding action. Similarly, challenges on goalkeepers will be penalised when an attacking player makes a clear action with no intent to play or challenge for the ball, resulting in contact that impacts the goalkeeper's ability to play or challenge for it.
The new guidelines also reinforce existing approaches, such as a 'less is more' stance on handball decisions and a robust approach to deliberate attempts to deceive officials. For the 2026-27 season, the Premier League will maintain a high threshold for penalising fouls and for VAR intervention, meaning on-field decisions will stand unless there is clear and obvious evidence of an error. Improvements to VAR efficiency are also anticipated, including enhanced use of semi-automated offside technology to reduce delays and a focus on the in-stadium VAR experience.
Further amendments to the general laws of the game will also be introduced. Players requiring on-field injury treatment or assessment will now be mandated to leave the field for a minimum of one minute, an increase from the previous 30-second limit. To combat time-wasting, a five-second countdown and restart reversal will be introduced for delayed throw-ins and goal kicks, alongside a 10-second time limit for players being substituted. Should this limit be exceeded, the replacement player cannot enter until the first stoppage of play after one minute has elapsed. A new worldwide addition will also see VAR reviews permissible for second yellow cards that lead to a red card.