Howard Webb warns Premier League clubs referees will penalise grappling all season, not just in August

Pro Ref chief Howard Webb has put Premier League clubs on notice that referees will penalise grappling from set-pieces more consistently across the entire 2025-26 season, ending a pattern of early-season crackdowns that faded as the campaign progressed.

Webb and Chief Football Officer Rebecca Caplehorn visited all 20 top-flight clubs in the weeks leading up to Friday’s season opener between champions Arsenal and Coventry City. Players were shown video clips of incidents from last season and warned they risk conceding penalties for wrestling — or even jostling without tracking the ball’s flight.

“Fans can expect to see more situations being penalised, but not only in August or September — throughout the season,” Webb said. “I think fans can expect less warnings from referees before fouls are given than they might have seen previously, and I know that was a source of frustration.”

Webb was careful to stress that physical contact remains part of the game. “I’m not going to commit to say we’re going to go from here to penalising lots of contact. Contact’s still part of the game. We still maintain a high threshold, but I would imagine we’ll be sat here this time next year and we’ll be able to reflect on a season where more offences have been penalised.”

To help officials act on the new directive, referees will receive data information packs before matches detailing each team’s set-piece routines — a practice that has existed in previous seasons but is being reinforced. Webb denied this amounts to pre-empting fouls, saying contact still needs to meet specific criteria; the packs are intended to help officials know where to focus their attention.

Pro Ref also announced a change to how hair-pulling incidents are handled. Last season, any tug of an opponent’s hair — regardless of force — resulted in a red card, a rule that caught Sunderland’s Dom Ballard and Everton’s Michael Keane following incidents involving Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare. This season, officials will be permitted to assess the degree of force used before deciding on a sanction.

The governing body’s Key Match Incidents panel recorded 25 officiating errors during the 2024-25 campaign. Of those, 22 were missed interventions and three were cases where VAR should not have become involved. Pro Ref said full analytical reviews of those errors will be published in due course as part of a transparency drive.