What's new in the Premier League? Eight-second rule, Ref Cam and much more TV games

The Premier League returns this weekend, with new teams, players and managers gracing the division ahead of another year of unpredictable footballing action.

The 2025–26 season will run from August 15, 2025 to May 24, 2026, with 33 weekend rounds and five midweek programmes. No fixtures will take place on December 26 to help reduce festive congestion, and the final round sees simultaneous kick-offs, all of which will be broadcast live. After 25 years as the Premier League's official match ball supplier, Nike have been replaced by Puma in a multi-year agreement.

However, these are not the only things that have changed heading into the new campaign, with a host of rules of governance and television changes being introduced as the goalposts get moved once again.

Eight-second rule and referee signals

In a bid to clamp down on time wasting, a new eight-second count for goalkeepers has been introduced, as opposed to the previous six seconds.

It begins when the goalkeeper has full control of the ball and is not being challenged by an opposing player, with the referee then visibly counting down the final five seconds, ensuring the goalkeeper can see the countdown.

PGMOL head Howard Webb said: "It's to get the ball back into play more quickly. It's meant to be preventative, not punitive. Like in other sports – if you play tennis at Wimbledon, you have to serve within a certain number of seconds."

If the eight seconds are exceeded, the opposing team is awarded a corner kick. A second offence will incur a warning, and a third warning will result in a booking as well as a corner.

Captains only speaking to referees

After successful trials across Europe, the Premier League have chosen to restrict interactions with the referee to the team captain, with this designed to improve match management and promote respectful dialogue. Players who approach the referee without permission and show disrespectful behaviour will be cautioned.

Penalty tweak

Should the penalty taker accidentally touch the ball twice and score a goal, then the spot-kick will be retaken. This follows uproar after Atletico's Julian Alvarez marginal double touch in last season's Champions League. That penalty would now be retaken. In the event of a double touch whereby the ball does not go into the goal, then this will continue to result in an indirect free kick against the taker.

Other rules

If a team official or off-field player accidentally touches the ball while it is still in play but when it is clearly leaving the field of play, this will be penalised with an indirect free kick with no cards or further punishment. If play is stopped in the penalty area, it restarts with a dropped ball to the defending goalkeeper.

If the ball is outside the penalty area, the referee drops it for the player of the team that has or would have gained possession. All dropped balls occur at the position where play was stopped.

This will be the first full season using semi-automated offside technology, which was introduced late in the 2024–25 season. With the use of tracking cameras, it automates offside detection, which will speed up decision-making. Referees will also announce VAR decisions to in-stadium audiences after trials during the Carabao Cup last season.

Ref Cam technology

This will be trialled on the opening weekend of the season, with a camera attached to the right ear of the referee along with a microphone and transmitter, which will send a video feed to broadcasters. The Premier League plan to show the Ref Cam footage on stadium screens, after successful trials during the Premier League Summer Series.

More access for broadcasters

As part of the new four-year domestic TV deal, broadcasters Sky Sports and TNT Sports will be showing 270 Premier League matches live. They will also get even more access with the introduction of touchline interviews during matches and dressing room access.

Players substituted will be allowed to cool down before being interviewed on the sideline during a game. Dressing room access will be restricted and never allowed during team talks. Sky have upped their game with the introduction of 'Multiview', where fans can now watch up to four games at once.

As a result of the record number of nine teams playing in Europe, the Premier League has warned of "an increased likelihood of fixtures moving at relatively short notice" if teams reach the knockout stages. Any matches rescheduled due to European competition will be shown on Sky Sports at 2pm on a Sunday.

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