The new rules for the season

The 2024/25 league campaign has already started, with this weekend seeing teams enter their third matchday (all except Lincoln Red Imps, who have yet to start their campaign as they conclude their Conference League play-offs). For those who have been fortunate enough—or brave enough, considering the heat—to attend the first two matchdays of the season, they will have already seen some cards flying. Both players and fans, unfamiliar with the new rules this season, might have engaged in more than one debate over some of the referees’ decisions, even though many of these rules were observed during the Euros.

One key change in football this season is the introduction of rules that prevent players from crowding around referees as seen in the past or even arguing with referees unless they are the captains—and then only legitimately. Referees in Gibraltar have been preparing for the start of the new season just as most players have done for their clubs, with intense training sessions, fitness sessions, and workshops instructing them on the new rules over the summer months. As in most football communities, the role of match officials continues to be one of the understated features of the game. Yet, as most clubs will admit when pressed, without them, the sport could not be played.

Once again this year, officials, as seen in the first matches of the season, will follow a robust approach to dealing with unacceptable behavior and delaying the restart of play. Measures introduced for 2023/24 will continue to be implemented alongside changes to the Laws of the Game, as laid out by The IFAB, for the forthcoming campaign. The Gibraltar FA, in preparation for the new season, recently published some of these changes.

A summary of these key changes, including updates to the rules regarding denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the penalty-kick process, is provided below:

Denial of an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity (DOGSO)
When an outfield player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball and a penalty kick is awarded, the player will be sent off.
However, when an outfield player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a handball offense whereby they make themselves unjustifiably bigger, but without deliberate movement of the hand/arm to the ball, and the referee awards a penalty kick, it will now result in a caution rather than a red card.

Deliberate handball + DOGSO = penalty + red card
Non-deliberate handball + body unjustifiably bigger + DOGSO = penalty + caution
Penalty Kick Process – Encroachment
A player’s position at a restart is determined by the position of their feet or any part of their body that is touching the ground.

The change for 2024/25 means that players who do not impact the play will not be penalized, applying the same principle as goalkeeper encroachment to all players. Examples of impact include:

Defender clearly distracts/impacts the taker
Attacker clearly distracts/impacts the goalkeeper
Ball rebounds and defender prevents a goal or goal-scoring opportunity
Ball rebounds and attacker scores, attempts to score, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity
Captain-Referee Cooperation
After the successful implementation of Captain-Referee Cooperation during Euro 2024, UEFA advised all NAs to introduce this policy across all footballing formats. Referees are offering a line of dialogue with the captains to enhance “fair play.” Referees are giving information to the captains ONLY about KEY decisions. Only the captain may approach/speak with the referee, and this must be done respectfully.

Guidelines

Normal interactions between players and the referee are allowed and remain important (to increase transparency and avoid possible frustration and conflict).
Any player (including the captain) who shows dissent by word or action will be cautioned (yellow card).
The referee will, where appropriate, explain important decisions to the captain(s) and/or player(s) involved in the incident.
To prevent players from mobbing or surrounding the referee in major situations and following key incidents or decisions.
Only one player from each team—usually the captain—is allowed to approach the referee, and when doing so, they must always interact in a respectful manner.
The referee may instruct/encourage players (verbally or with gestures) not to approach them.
The team captains are responsible for helping to direct their teammates away from the referee.
Players who approach/surround the referee when they are not permitted to do so may be cautioned (yellow card).
If appropriate, the referee may delay the restart of play to allow the captain(s) time to speak with their teammates to explain the decision, demand proper behavior, etc.
Interaction with, or an approach by, any player other than the captain is at the discretion of the referee, e.g., if the player has committed the offense, been fouled, and/or injured.
The Gibraltar FA further added that “alongside implementing the aforementioned law changes, officials will once again have the full support of the football authorities to deliver the stronger measures that were introduced ahead of last season, including maintaining a robust approach to dealing with participant behavior when it falls below expected standards, both on the field and in the technical area.

“Ball in-play time increased by an average of six minutes in the GFL during the 2023–24 season. The exact time lost when certain game events occur will again be added. Events considered for this include goals and celebrations—a slight change for 2024/25 will see time added after an initial 30 seconds has elapsed. For example, if a goal and the subsequent celebration take one minute, officials will add 30 seconds at the end of the relevant half. Time lost for substitutions, injuries requiring treatment, penalties, and red cards will also be included.

“Clear and deliberate actions that impact and delay the restart of play will also see players cautioned.

“As per 2023/24, players who require assessment on the pitch for a potential injury will receive treatment off the field of play, apart from certain circumstances as laid out in Law 5 of the Laws of the Game:

A goalkeeper is injured
A goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need attention
Players from the same team have collided and need attention
A severe injury has occurred
A player is injured as the result of a physical offense for which the opponent is cautioned or sent off (e.g., reckless or serious foul challenge), if the assessment/treatment is completed quickly
A penalty has been awarded and the injured player will be the taker
“After the restart of play, a period of time—not less than 30 seconds—will be afforded for the player to be treated, and they will not return to the pitch before this period has elapsed. As always, the player’s return to the pitch requires the referee’s permission and may be delayed beyond 30 seconds if the phase of play is in the vicinity of the player looking to re-enter the pitch.

“In circumstances where a player declines treatment, if a teammate clearly delays or refuses to restart the game, that teammate will be issued a yellow card. This will promote player safety, which is of paramount importance to the match officials, and act as a deterrent to players who request attention as a tactic to waste time or break the momentum of the game.

“In the event a physio delays or refuses to enter the field at the request of the match official, the physio may be cautioned and will still be required to attend to the injured player at the request of the referee.

“Match officials will make quick judgment calls to request the physio to enter the field if they feel the injured player is delaying playing time. The official may request the physio to enter the field even if the injured player(s) do not request it.

“Handball is a subjective judgment, and not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offense, with hand/arm position being judged in relation to body movement in that particular situation.

What constitutes a handball offense:

Arm movement

Deliberate movement of the arm towards the ball
Arm position

Makes body unjustifiably bigger
Mitigating factors:

Justifiable position/action
Supportive arm when the player falls
Player plays ball onto own arm
Clear change of trajectory when touched by the same player
Played by a teammate
Proximity.”
The league has so far seen one straight red card, with eleven yellow cards shown in the eight league matches played so far.