The Premier League will adopt a tougher approach to holding and grappling at set pieces this season, with referees instructed to take stronger action against deliberate offences that have a clear impact on play.
Although the laws of the game remain unchanged, officials across the Premier League, English Football League and Women’s Super League have been told to pay greater attention to what have been described as “non-footballing holding actions”.
These include situations where a player focuses solely on an opponent without attempting to play the ball, uses both arms to hold an opponent, or persistently grabs a player or their clothing.
Under the renewed approach, defenders who turn their backs to an incoming corner or free-kick and deliberately hold an attacker to restrict their movement could be penalised.
Howard Webb, the Premier League’s referees’ chief, said officials had been encouraged to act decisively rather than repeatedly warning players about holding.
“We’re trying to get the officials to be as confident as they can be to penalise what they see,” Webb said, according to BBC Sport.
“So fewer warnings, more actions penalised, and if there’s any reduction in offences being penalised it should be a result of a modification of player behaviour rather than us no longer applying it,” he added.
The renewed focus follows concerns over missed VAR interventions during the previous season.
Of the 20 missed interventions identified, a quarter involved penalties that were not awarded after players were wrestled to the ground away from the ball.
However, Webb stressed that officials would not adopt an excessively strict approach to physical contact, particularly when dealing with goalkeepers.
The league will maintain a high threshold for contact, meaning ordinary physical challenges or minor bumps will not automatically lead to a goal being disallowed.
However, goalkeepers could still be penalised when their movement is clearly restricted, such as when an opponent holds their arm back.
The change could have a significant impact on set-piece tactics across the Premier League.
Clubs scored 269 goals from set pieces last season, excluding penalties and direct free-kicks, with such goals accounting for a record 25.7% of all goals scored in the league.
Arsenal led the league with 25 set-piece goals, followed by Manchester United with 21 and Tottenham Hotspur with 19.
Defensively, Liverpool conceded the most set-piece goals in the league with 19, while Chelsea and Newcastle United each conceded 17.
Arsenal’s performance was particularly notable as the club combined attacking effectiveness from set pieces with defensive strength, conceding only seven goals from such situations.
The new refereeing emphasis could therefore force Premier League clubs to reconsider both their attacking and defensive approaches to corners and free-kicks.
Webb said the objective was not to eliminate physicality from football but to discourage actions that have no genuine connection with attempting to play the ball.
“If we start penalising offences, players have to adjust their tactics. And then those kinds of situations reduce in number,” he said.
The approach will be monitored throughout the season, with consistency expected to be crucial as referees seek to maintain the standard beyond the opening weeks of the campaign.
For Premier League players and clubs, the message is clear: deliberate holding and grappling at set pieces will face greater scrutiny, and teams that continue to use such tactics could find themselves conceding penalties.
