Another season, another law change. Lincoln City fans will be subjected to a series of changes next season that will, ultimately, be applied in the usual erratic and haphazard way, differing from one official to the next.
The might sound a bit bitter, but I remember 2023/24. We finished two points outside the play-offs, but dropped four points against Northampton and Bristol Rovers early doors. Those games were early victims of the injury time law change, with nine and ten minutes routinely added on. It seemed to creep away, although in fairness, that was perception, and the difference was only ever a minute or two.
A minute or two in which both teams equalised.
We see loose interpretations of the subs laws, where players have to leave at one side of the pitch. Game state seems to dictate whether a referee sends a player off opposite the dugouts or not. Simulation laws changed last season, harshly seeing Brendan Wiredu sent off against us, and Tendayi Darikwa sent off in the FA Cup. Every year, they tinker, so what is it this season?
Substitutions Must Be Completed Quickly
Here we go again, more focus on the sub laws. Players being substituted will now be expected to leave the pitch within 10 seconds of the signal being given.
Should they take longer, the substitution will still go ahead, but the replacement will not be allowed onto the field until the first stoppage after a full minute has passed, leaving a team a man down. There will be exceptions for injuries, security issues and other genuine concerns, but the intention is clearly to stop the long, slow walks from the far side of the pitch.
In theory, sure, it seems great, but let’s see how it is implemented.
Goalkeeper Injury Trial Introduced
One of the more eye-catching changes relates to goalkeeper injuries. Farman time as something to chuckle about in 2017, but in 2026, when managers are openly saying they tell the keeper to go down, it has clearly become a problem.
If play is stopped, or a restart is delayed, because of a goalkeeper injury, the manager must nominate an outfield player to leave the pitch immediately. That player will then remain off for at least one minute after play resumes.
There are sensible exceptions, including when the goalkeeper has been fouled, is bleeding or has collided with an outfield player. However, the trial is designed to prevent teams using goalkeeper treatment as an opportunity for tactical instructions or to interrupt an opponent’s momentum.
My immediate thought is we’ll see keepers ‘colliding’ with their own players and going down, leaving the referee with a quandary. A more sensible approach would have been for a keeper injury to result in all players standing in the centre circle, and any approach to the bench, or indeed communication, earns a booking.
Still, what do I know?
Five-Second Countdown for Restarts
Referees will be able to use a visible five-second countdown when they believe players are deliberately delaying a goal kick or throw-in. That could include slowly retrieving the ball, taking a throw from the wrong position or repeatedly placing the ball incorrectly at a goal kick.
If a throw-in is still delayed after the countdown, possession will be handed to the opposition. If the same happens at a goal kick, the opposition will be awarded a corner.
This makes sense. It’s not a hard and fast ‘when the ball goes out, it’s five seconds’, but once the referee starts his count, that is it. I think we saw early in the World Cup one throw-in overturned, but there weren’t many after as players understood the rules.
Eight-Second Goalkeeper Rule Remains
We also saw goal kicks potentially turned into corners at the World Cup, and that is a possibility. Goalkeepers will still have eight seconds to release the ball after taking control of it.
Referees will decide when the count begins, and should a goalkeeper exceed the limit, the opposition will be awarded a corner. The process will continue to follow the same approach introduced previously, based around clear control, the referee’s count and the resulting punishment.
Could this work for us? Teams that like to play from the back under a high press might feel rushed and pump it long onto the head of one of our giants. Maybe.
Additional Time to Be Calculated More Accurately
Officials have also been instructed to continue adding time more accurately for major stoppages, and this could leave us playing until Sunday morning.
According to the laws of the game, the full period lost to substitutions, injuries, penalties and red cards should now be included. For goals, the added-time clock will begin once 30 seconds have elapsed, while referees will make their own allowance for time-wasting and delayed restarts.
This means the real-time watch stops for all of those moments. Penalty takes five minutes to take, like in the World Cup? Five minutes added time. Red card sees a melee and three minutes to clear the pitch? There are eight. No more 30-seconds for subs; it’s whatever it takes, and assuming the board going up is the trigger, that’ll be ten seconds, bare minimum for each sub: with five allowed, even if we get nothing but the full quota of subs, we’re getting two minutes.
That is likely to mean lengthy periods of stoppage time remain common, particularly in matches featuring several injuries or substitutions.
Higher Threshold for Challenges
The EFL says referees will continue to apply a higher threshold when deciding whether contact should result in a foul, which is just ambiguous. A ‘high threshold’ isn’t a change to the laws of the game; it’s just a directive that means nothing, not really.
The message is that not every piece of contact is an offence, and not every foul deserves a yellow card. Officials are expected to consider the strength of the contact, the consequences and the actions of both players. In part, I salute that.
That approach will also apply to challenges involving goalkeepers. Normal contact and genuine attempts to play the ball should be allowed, although referees will act when a player deliberately interferes with a goalkeeper’s arms or prevents them from challenging for the ball. If the keeper goes down and the foul isn’t obvious, the referee might just err on the side of the attacking side.
George Wickens will be happy this has been outlined after Luton away!
Hair-Pulling Punishments Clarified
Clear and deliberate hair-pulling involving excessive force or brutality will result in a red card for violent conduct. A deliberate action without excessive force will normally result in a yellow card, while accidental or negligible contact will not usually be treated as an offence.
This is rubbish for me. Any attempt to stop an opponent which isn’t a justifiable challenge for the ball should be a red card. Pulling the hair, which yanks back the head and at high speed could be dangerous, should be a mandatory red card.
Simulation Remains a Priority
Players who clearly attempt to deceive the referee by diving, exaggerating contact or pretending to be injured can expect to be cautioned this season, but again, it’s perception, and without a replay, a bit harsh. Wiredu and Darikwa both deserved to stay on the field against Plymouth and Salford, and neither did.
Officials have been told to look for situations where there is no contact, where the player creates the contact themselves, or where minor contact is exaggerated in an attempt to influence the decision or disciplinary outcome. Again, not great for me. ‘Creating contact’ could be putting your body between player and ball, as Djed Spence did in the World Cup, and for me, that’s not simulation when he’s fouled after.
Holding to Be Judged on Impact
Holding will only be punished when it clearly affects an opponent’s ability to play or challenge for the ball, or when it involves an obvious non-footballing action. This will be crucial at corners, but impossible to police. It might give us a few more ‘that’s not fair’ moments, and let’s be honest, it’s nice to feel angry after a goal if you feel you’ve been robbed, rather than just having to stomach the goal.
Referees will pay particular attention to two-handed holding, sustained shirt pulling and players who are focused solely on blocking an opponent rather than competing for the ball. Mutual holding and minor contact should not automatically result in a foul, which it doesn’t anyway.
Conclusion
All change, but let’s face it, only a handful are likely to have an impact. The added time will be interesting, especially as we’ll be trying to break games up a bit, as we did at Cardiff City. Not in a ‘Wycombe’ way, but you try to slow the game down: will referees really clamp down on that? Same with the subs laws. There always seems to be a way to change how subs leave the field, and they rarely seem to make much of a difference.
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