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Premier League changes hair-pulling punishment for new season
Premier League referees will be able to book players for hair-pulling instead of sending them off after a change of emphasis in the rules for the 2026-27 season.
Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez, Everton's Michael Keane and Sunderland's Dan Ballard were shown red cards for pulling an opponent's hair last season.
United manager Michael Carrick labelled Martinez's dismissal for tugging Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair as one of the "worst decisions" he had ever seen.
The offence was previously viewed as violent conduct but it has now been tweaked so that a hair pull "without excessive force and/or brutality" can be deemed to be worthy of a yellow card.
The Premier League on Friday detailed new refereeing points of emphasis for the new season after discussions with the top-flight's Game Improvement Advisory Group.
"A red card will be issued when there is a clear and deliberate action to pull an opponent's hair with excessive force and/or brutality. A yellow card will be issued if the action is deemed to be without excessive force and/or brutality," a Premier League statement read.
A greater focus on penalising holding by defenders at corners and challenges on goalkeepers will also be brought in by Premier League referees.
This has been sparked by the number of goals scored after potential fouls before the ball was put in play at set-pieces.
"Referees will enhance recognition of clear holding actions that have clear material impact, and/or non-footballing holding actions with no place on football pitch," the statement said.
"This includes penalising defenders where they are clearly only focused on opponents and making a holding action that is impactful on the attacker's ability to play or challenge for the ball.
"Challenges on goalkeepers will be penalised where an attacking player makes a clear action with no intent to play or challenge for the ball which results in contact that impacts the ability of the goalkeeper to play or challenge for the ball."
Players who receive on-field injury treatment or assessment will now be required to leave the pitch for at least one minute, an increase from the 30-second limit before.
A five-second countdown and restart reversal for delayed throw-ins and goal kicks will occur, while a 10-second time limit has been brought in for players when they are substituted.
If the time limit is exceeded, the substitute cannot enter until the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed.
A. Walsh--BTZ
