Premier League adjusts hair-pull red card threshold and tightens time-wasting rules | OneFootball

The Premier League has unveiled its 2026/27 refereeing guidelines, raising the bar for hair-pull red cards and adding tougher measures on time wasting.

Sunderland’s Dan Ballard was dismissed after a VAR review in May’s 1-1 draw with Wolves at Molineux, under a rule that treated hair pulling as violent conduct and drew a three-game ban. Régis Le Bris later urged greater nuance, arguing his defender’s contact with Tolu Arokodare was accidental during an aerial tussle.

The changes follow the league’s end-of-season review with stakeholders. Its Game Improvement Advisory Group, which includes the division, PGMO and top-tier clubs, then sets refereeing principles and points of emphasis.

Under the new guidance, a yellow card applies when a hair pull is not excessive or brutal. A red will only follow for a clear, deliberate hair pull using excessive force or brutality. How VAR would have treated Ballard’s incident remains unclear, but the threshold for violent conduct is higher.

Referees are asked to keep a restrained approach to handball, clamp down on holding at set plays and penalise blocks that stop goalkeepers moving towards the ball. The aim is to address criticism over grappling and set-piece dominance.

Law changes from IFAB will also apply, many already visible at the World Cup. Players who receive treatment must now leave the pitch for at least one minute. A five-second countdown for deliberate delays at goal kicks and throw-ins will see opponents awarded a corner for goal-kick time wasting, or the throw for delayed throw-ins.

Substitutions carry a 10-second limit for the player leaving, or the replacement must wait one minute after play resumes to enter. VAR can now review dismissals that result from a second yellow, but not potential second yellow offences. The league has not adopted an optional wider VAR scope, such as correcting wrongly awarded corners.

Source: Sunderland Echo