The Premier League's new plan to end corner chaos

The Premier League is implementing a new plan to curb corner chaos and improve player behavior during set pieces. Last season, holding, pushing, shoving, and grappling incidents became a common occurrence in the penalty area, leading to frustration among referees and team managers.

After a particularly contentious game between Manchester United and Everton in February, Everton boss David Moyes expressed his discontent with the lack of referee intervention. The issue resurfaced during West Ham's disallowed goal against Arsenal in May, where up to five potential fouls occurred simultaneously.

Referees have been instructed to be stricter and more vigilant in penalizing clear non-footballing actions during corners. The focus will remain on preventing players from playing or challenging for the ball, as well as any prolonged and impactful holding of an opponent or their clothing. This includes defenders who have their back to the ball and only aim to obstruct an attacker's movement.

The new guidelines have been explained to the players through Pro Ref, the new name for the referees' body in England. They have shown players clips of incidents that were not penalties last season but would be considered non-footballing holding actions under the new rules. One such example is Brentford's Keane Lewis-Potter wrestling West Ham's Tomas Soucek at the far post off the ball, while another is Sunderland's Luke O' Nien dragging down Leeds United's Pascal Struijk with an arm around the neck.

Premier League referees chief Howard Webb emphasized the importance of referees being proactive in penalizing such offenses. He believes that fewer warnings and more actions being penalized will be a result of a change in player behavior rather than the referees applying the rules more harshly. However, Webb also stated that goalkeeper movement restrictions, such as restricting the arm movement while not playing the ball, will still be penalized.

The Premier League saw 269 goals scored from set-pieces last season, accounting for 25.7% of all goals, which is the highest among top European leagues. If referees become stricter, it could potentially impact the effectiveness of set plays. Webb agrees that stronger enforcement of rules may lead to tactical adjustments from players, ultimately reducing the number of such situations.