VAR operation in the EPL is still work in progress: Former referee Keith Hackett bats for semi-automated offside tech; talks about new stringent Premier League rules

Over the years, the game of football has gone through a litany of changes when it comes to introduction of new rules. As human beings, we are creatures of habit so every now and then when a new rule is introduced in a rather familiar setting, it is more often than not met with considerable pushback.

This season in the Premier League, a new set of rules were introduced which have allowed referees to be stricter in clamping down on time wasting during the game. This was done after data showed that the average actual playing time in an English Premier League game was around 55 minutes.

So, the EPL went the FIFA World Cup way where the officials stop the watch whenever the ball is out of play like during a prolonged goal celebration or while taking a throw in. The watch will restart again when the ball is sent into play and the chunk of time in between will be added right at the end of the game. This has led to EPL games having large chunks of time added on after 90 minutes which has led to many a pivotal moment in the matches this season.

There have also been a spate of bookings where the referee brandishes yellow cards which are sometimes deemed as a little too harsh by the fan base. For example, Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu was deemed to be time wasting while taking a throw against Crystal Palace and was booked even though he had the ball in his hands for just a few seconds. He would ultimately get a second yellow card a few minutes after the first booking and would thus be sent off. Reacting to it, manager Mikel Arteta would say that the Japan international was probably holding on to the ball for about 8 seconds, adding “We might have to play with a stopwatch.”

Talking about the new rules and their applications, former