by David Stephens, Argyle Fans’ Trust
The Argyle Fans’ Trust was recently invited to attend an online PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) webinar to find out more about changes in the referees’ officiating strategy for the EFL 2024/25 season. Adam Gale-Watts (PGMOL Technical Director) delivered an interesting and informative presentation to attendees from many fan organisations across all three leagues of the EFL. Adam was also happy to field questions from the audience on a diverse range of topics in a transparent and constructive manner.
The general focus of officiating remains very similar to last season in that referees are committed to the Participant Behaviour Charter, both for on-field behaviour from players and in the technical area from coaching staff and off-pitch players. There was a significant increase in yellow cards for dissent in the 2023/24 season which is a product of enforcing better behaviour such as preventing players from waving imaginary yellow cards or running directly at referees to protest in an intimidating manner.
There will be updated media comment guidance for players and staff to provide greater clarity and introduce more robust measures for players bringing the game into disrepute via inappropriate online behaviour. However, it is understood that players and staff are allowed to disagree with a match official in a reasonable way.
PGMOL is continuing to look at Effective Playing Time (EPT) to address time-wasting and this is detailed on the website. There was an acceptance that too much time was being added on at the beginning of the 2023/24 season, however this was due to time being added on for minor stoppages such as issuing yellow cards.
More work is being carried out on the handball rule and what constitutes a handball; match officials will be looking for a change in trajectory and where a handball has disrupted play. Mitigating factors such as arms being in a justifiable position, such as down by your side or supporting a fall, will not lead to an offence. Proximity will also be considered when a decision is made. Officials at PGMOL stated that they do not want to see players having to defend with their arms behind their backs. A deliberate arm movement away from the body, clear additional arm movement and/or an arm position that makes the body bigger and is unjustifiable will lead to an offence.
Fans of EFL clubs will see a greater emphasis on combatting holding from set-pieces and should expect to see players being penalised where they have one arm or two arms around their opponent. There is an acceptance however that not all contact constitutes a foul.
Finally, the PGMOL are trialling some additional rules for goalkeeping in the Premier League 2 this season such as an 8-second rule for how long the goalkeeper can hang onto the ball.
Generally, match officials are being encouraged to act with personality on the pitch and to not become too robotic in their approach, such as with weighing up all of the variables in a handball decision.
The seminar was extremely well received by attendees and it is hoped that more of these will be planned in the future. The Trust would like to thank the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and PGMOL for organising this event and specifically Adam Gale-Watts for answering questions from the audience in a positive and forthright manner.
More information can be found by clicking on the following link:
https://www.efl.com/news/2024/august/07/what-to-expect-from-match-officials-in-2024-25-
