2022/23 PL Season – Matchweek 1 – Refereeing matters

• Are Arsenal in line for a return to the top four?

by Andrew Crawshaw

For this coming season there has been a couple of minor changes to the IFAB rules of the game.  The IFAB is the international body that sets out the laws that all players must follow throughout the world.

Law 11:Offside

Though Law 11 has not explicitly changed, the new guidelines make clear an offside player will not automatically become onside upon a defender touching the ball.

“‘Deliberate play’ is when a player has control of the ball with the possibility of passing the ball to a team-mate, gaining possession of the ball, or clearing the ball,” IFAB’s clarified guidelines state.

“If the pass, attempt to gain possession or clearance by the player in control of the ball is inaccurate or unsuccessful, this does not negate the fact that the player ‘deliberately played’ the ball.”

In addition, IFAB provides these indicators as to when a player “deliberately played” the ball:

• The ball had travelled from distance and the players had a clear view of it
• The ball was not moving quickly
• The direction of the ball was not unexpected
• The player had time to coordinate their body movement
• A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air”

So that makes the job of deciding whether an attacking player is offside as clear as mud then.  Good luck to the match officials with that one.

Law 14: The Penalty Kick

“When the ball is kicked, the defending goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, or in line with, or behind, the goalline.”

Previously the goalkeeper was required to have part of at least one foot on/above the goalline at the moment when a penalty, or kick from the penalty mark, was taken.

Consequently, if the goalkeeper had one foot in front of the goalline and one behind it, this was technically an offence even though no unfair advantage was gained. The wording of Law 14 has been amended to avoid such a position being penalised

Despite this small change to the wording, the Law still requires a goalkeeper to have at least part of one foot on/above the line until the moment when the kick is taken i.e. the goalkeeper may not stand behind, or in front of, the goal line.”

Substitutions

There is a change in the number of substitutes being allowed with the PL falling into line with recent international practice and allowing for the bench to contain up to nine substitutes of which a maximum of five can be used in the game.  Substitutions can be made on three occasions during open play and at halftime

Refereeing Personnel

At the end of last season it was announced that Mike Dean, Jonathan Moss and Martin Atkinson were retiring from refereeing.

Mike Dean will join Lee Mason as a dedicated VAR referee for this coming season so not really retiring just moving behind a bank of TV screens out of sight.

Jon Moss has been awarded the post of manager of the Select Group 1 Officials and Martin Atkinson has become the referee coach for the group.  Little chance of there being any change in attitudes among the referees then.

Kevin Friend is also no longer listed in the Select Group referees having become manager of the Select Group 2 referees working in the EFL.

There are four new match officials that have been appointed to the Select Group of referees and assistant referees for this season (one referee and three assistant referees):-

• 32 year old Tom Bramall has been added to the list of Referees.  He is registered with Sheffield and Hallamshire FA and has been refereeing in the EFL since 2014/15.  He starts as Fourth Official in the Newcastle v Forest game.
• Natalie Aspinall joins Sian Massey-Ellis to double the number of women acting as Assistant Referees.  She has extensive experience both in the EFL and internationally in Women’s games.  If she is as good as Sian then I will be very pleased.  She starts this weekend in the AVAR role in the Spurs v Southampton game.
• Nick Greenhalgh has over 300 games in the EFL and has earned his promotion.  He starts alongside old hand Eddie Smart at Bournemouth
• Steve Meredith has a similar length of service as Nick and has also earned his promotion.  He is also alongside an old hand, Harry Leonnard at Leicester.

The Full list of officials accredited for the PL (and by FIFA for international matches) this season is:-

19 Referees – Stuart Attwell (FIFA), Peter Bankes (FIFA), Tom Bramall, John Brooks, David Coote (FIFA), Darren England (FIFA), Jarred Gillett, Tony Harrington, Simon Hooper, Rob Jones, Chris Kavanagh (FIFA), Andy Madley (FIFA), Michael Oliver (FIFA), Craig Pawson (FIFA), Michael Salisbury, Anthony Taylor (FIFA), Paul Tierney (FIFA)

30 Assistant Referees – Natalie Aspinall (FIFA), Simon Bennett (FIFA), Gary Beswick (FIFA), Lee Betts (FIFA), Stuart Burt (FIFA), Dan Cook (FIFA), Neil Davis (FIFA), Derek Eaton, Nick Greenhalgh, Constantine Hatzidakis (FIFA), Adrian Holmes, Nick Hopton, Ian Hussin (FIFA), Peter Kirkup, Scott Ledger, Harry Lennard (FIFA), Simon Long, James Mainwaring, Sian Massey-Ellis (FIFA), Steve Meredith, Adam Nunn (FIFA), Marc Perry, Dan Robathan, Marc Scholes, Eddie Smart, Wade Smith, Richard West, Matthew Wilkes, Tim Wood.

All of the above referees can act in the VAR role plus Mike Dean and Lee mason following their on-field retirements.

All of the Assistant Referees can act in AVAR role.

Who is on duty this coming weekend

Match	Referee	Assistant Referees	4th Official	VAR referee	Assistant VAR Referee
Crystal Palace  v Arsenal	Anthony Taylor	Gary Beswick Adam Nunn	Peter Bankes	Darren England	James Mainwaring
Fulham v Liverpool	Andy Madley	Dan Cook Derek Eaton	Tony Harrington	Stuart Atwell	Gary Beswick
Bournemouth v Aston Villa	Peter Bankes	Eddie Smart Nick Greenhaulgh	James Linnington	Michael Salisbury	Constantine Hatzidakis
Leeds v Wolverhampton	Robert Jones	Lee Betts Ian Hussin	Michael Oliver	Jarred Gillet	Neil Davies
Newcastle Utd v  Nottingham Forrest	Simon Hooper	Adrian Holmes Marc Scholes	Tom Bramall	Lee Mason	Simon Bennett
Tottenham v Southampton	Andre Marriner	Simon Long Richard West	Tim Robinson	Paul Tierney	Natalie Aspinall
Everton v Chelsea	Craig Pawson	Marc Perry Scott Ledger	Graham Scott	John Brookes	Darren Cann
Leicester v Brentford	Jarred Gillet	Harry Lennard Steve Meredith	David Coote	Graham Scott	Simon Long
Man United v Brighton	Paul Tierney	Constantine Hatzidakis Niel Davies	Michael Salisbury	John Brookes	Timothy Wood
West Ham v Man City	Michael Oliver	Stuart Burt Simon Bennett	Stuart Attwell	Mike Dean	Eddie Smart

So our old friend Mike Dean hasn’t really retired at all and we can still look forward to enjoying the benefits of his wisdom for the foreseeable future.

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