New regulations! Telegraph exclusive: Next season only captains will be allowed to talk to referees about key penalty

05, May 16th, The Daily Telegraph exclusively reported that the Premier League will implement a new rule next season: only the captain is allowed to communicate with the referee.

The Premier League will officially implement the "Captains and Referees only" rules next season, which is consistent with the policies implemented by UEFA in its competitions this season. Clubs are expected to approve the rule at the Premier League annual general meeting next month, and referee management agency PGMOL also hopes that other leagues in England can adopt the new rule. The rule has been implemented in three UEFA club competitions this season.

This adjustment was initially trialed during the 2024 European Cup and was subsequently expanded to all UEFA tournaments this season. Referees generally support this reform and are encouraged to "interpret the penalty rather than defend the penalty" in their communication with the captain. The new regulations do not prohibit the daily interaction between the other 20 players on the court and the referee and the assistant referee, but require that the dialogue involving the key penalty of the game must be conducted by the captains of the two teams. In rare cases, if the goalkeeper is the captain, the team can designate a player on the court as the representative for communicating with the referee.

UEFA announced in July last year that the referee would "maintain open channels of dialogue with the team" to explain all decisions, including VAR penalty. The statement emphasized: "This information and relevant explanations are only provided to the captain. They are the only players who have the right to communicate with the referee and request clarification with respect. "

"The captain is also responsible for the behavior of his teammates, urge them to respect the referee, maintain distance, and avoid blocking the game officials. "In UEFA events, the referee has presented yellow cards to players who violated the policy as a punishment. This measure was launched by the International Football Association Council (IFAB) in November 2023 to curb the phenomenon of players collectively blocking referees' protests against punishment - a behavior that is believed to have a negative impact on the referee's work in games, especially in grassroots events. The same problem exists in other leagues in England, but the attention is not as high as that in the Premier League.

As the Daily Telegraph disclosed this month, the referee system itself is undergoing major changes: the first elite referee group (SG1) responsible for the Premier League and the top Premier League games will be merged with the second elite referee group (SG2) responsible for the Championship, the first elite referee group (SG2) responsible for the Championship, the first and second elite referee group (SG2) responsible for the Championship. The referee may even face relegation, but this adjustment will not be implemented until the 2026-2027 season at the earliest.