Revealed: New handball interpretation for the 2024-25 season that will look to stop ‘soft penalties’ – but officials will clamp down on holding in the penalty area

The interpretation of the handball rule is expected to be changed again ahead of the new campaign after the referees’ association announced new guidelines.

Officials will aim to reduce the number of ‘soft penalties’ in the 2024-25 season by being more lenient when the ball deflects.

Last season, fans were often confused about the handball rules, due to the series of harsh penalties that were imposed.

The growing controversy led to calls for changes to the rules, especially in situations where players may have difficulty getting their hand out of the way in time.

Now the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) group has responded to the growing frustration, by granting an interview to former referee Kevin Friend Sky Sport to clarify the new guideline.

There was a lot of confusion over the handball rule last season, with several potential offences being missed, including Jack Grealish against Chelsea in the FA Cup

The 53-year-old said: ‘Last season we had a few light penalties for handball. If there is a clear movement of the ball from the foot to the hand, we are not going to penalise it.

‘We are particularly looking for examples where the ball is clearly unfairly hit against the arm, with the hands above the head, away from the body, to deliberately prevent the ball from entering the penalty area or goal.’

Friend also revealed a new interpretation of the rules surrounding holding in the penalty area.

Prior to this campaign, referees must take into account the distance between the incident and the ball.

The former referee said: ‘One of the things we love about English football – the Championship, League One, League Two – is the physicality. We don’t want to take that away.

“We understand that teams will block when the ball comes out. There is an element of holding. We understand that there will be mutual holding – we are not going to intervene there.

‘We look at the clear tenacious attacks that affect the attackers’ ability to get the ball.

Others saw managers angry at ‘soft punishments’, including Gary O’Neill’s frustration at a foul committed on Wolves’ Joao Gomes against Luton

Manchester United were awarded a controversial penalty for handball against Bournemouth in April when the ball struck Adam Smith’s hand

Referee Anthony Taylor officiated at the European Championship quarter-final between Germany and Spain and his decision not to award Germany a penalty for handball was criticised

‘If the actions of the defenders are to deliberately bring the player down by holding him, persistently, impactfully, then we are going to punish that. The further away from the ball, the more serious it has to be.

‘Last season we saw a few examples of defensive rugby players tackling attacking players 15 metres from the ball. Such actions, which are not football related and are extreme, we would like to punish.

‘It’s what we did last season, but more of an approach of, “What’s the impact? What are the intentions of the defensive player? What are the actions of the offensive player?”‘

Referees have informed all clubs in the league about the new season, as they look to start afresh after a season of refereeing controversy.

There are only two Premier League referees left on the UEFA Elite List, the highest rank for referees: Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver.

And Taylor was at the centre of a refereeing saga during the Euro 2024 match between France and the Netherlands this summer.

The Dutch side felt they could, or perhaps should, have won the match after Xavi Simons beat French keeper Mike Maignan with a superb low shot from 15 yards midway through the second half.

Xavi Simons thought he had broken the deadlock for his team with a shot from the edge of the penalty area against France, but it was disallowed by Taylor and his VAR team

Taylor did not award a penalty after the ball hit the hand of Spaniard Marc Cucurella (right)

One of the assistant referees immediately disallowed the ball for offside, as Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries was said to have disrupted play.

The match was then stopped for over two minutes as the VAR team attempted to determine whether this was the correct decision, with scenes reminiscent of several incidents during the Premier League season.

He and his VAR team later infuriated German fans after failing to award the home side a penalty for handball against Spaniard Marc Cucurella in their quarter-final defeat.

Taylor was seen as having made the right decision in the context of UEFA when he rejected the penalty appeals.