Football's new laws - changes to backpasses, penalties, handballs and subs for 2019-20
Goalkeepers picking up backpasses (sort of), uncontested drop balls and more handball decisions - football's laws have changed again. A dozen changes from the International Football Association Board (Ifab) came in over the summer - you may have seen some of them if you were following the Women's World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations or Copa America. But they are bound to cause plenty of talking points in the opening weeks of the season as every tournament worldwide, including the Premier League, adopts them for the coming season. Some are quite trivial but several could make a big difference to the game. Premier League 2019-20 season: Club-by-club guide Who will finish where in the Scottish Premiership? Drop balls Drop balls can no longer be contested, but the change is more positive than it sounds. If play is stopped, the ball will be dropped to a player on the team that last touched the ball - and where they touched it. All other players must be 4.5 yards (4 metres) away. What that means is if a team's attack is stopped, they will get the ball back in that position - instead of the opponents booting the ball down the field. However, any play stopped in a penalty area will be returned to the goalkeeper, even if the attacking team had the ball. Another big change now sees a drop ball awarded if the ball hits the referee and goes to the other team as a result, or if the referee accidentally scores a goal, as happened in the Dutch fourth division a week before the law change. Handballs The law remains that deliberate handball is an offence. But accidental handball will also be a free-kick or penalty if... the ball goes into the goal off an attacker a player gets the ball using his or her arm or hand and then scores, or creates a goalscoring opportunity (such as Ellen White's disallowed goal against Sweden in the Women's World Cup third-place play-off) the player's arm or hand is above their shoulder (unless the player has controlled the ball onto his own arm or hand) a player's hand or arm has made their body "unnaturally bigger" A handball will not be a free-kick if... the ball is knocked on to a hand by the player in question or a nearby player the arm or hand is close to their body and "has not made their body unnaturally bigger" a player is falling and the ball touches their hand or arm when it is between their body and the ground to support the body - but not extended to make the body bigger However "unnaturally bigger" is open for some debate. The Netherlands were given a penalty against Japan for handball at the Women's World Cup but Premier League referees' chief Mike Riley said "we consider that to be a natural position of the hand". He added: "The way we've actually implemented handball for the past two or three seasons is the way we are going to continue to do it in the future." Another change to the handball rule relates to the goalkeeper. If the goalkeeper attempts to clear ("release into play") a throw-in or backpass and their clearance fails, then they can handle the ball. Ifab says this is because "when the goalkeeper clearly kicks or tries to kick the ball into play, this shows no intention to handle the ball". Goal-kicks Another change involving goalkeepers is to goal-kicks, which can now be played to a team-mate inside the penalty area. The law now says the ball is considered in play once the kick is taken. Until now a goal-kick had to be retaken if it did n
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2019-08-02 02:00:00
Wolves progressed to the Europa League third qualifying round as a 4-1 victory over Crusaders in Belfast secured a 6-1 aggregate win.
Ryan Bennett's own goal gave the Irish League hosts hope but Raul Jimenez quickly fired in an equaliser. Bennett made amends with a powerful header to make it 2-1 and Jimenez added the third courtesy of a sweet strike. Jordan Forsythe's own goal in a low key second half sealed the win with Armenia's Pyunik next up for Wolves. First-leg goals from Diogo Jota and Ruben Vinagre at Molineux put the Premier League side in control of the tie as the two teams ran out in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 3,000 at Seaview. Wolves had to fight hard for that win and they were given a scare in north Belfast before hitting back and outclassing the Irish Cup winners. Jimenez double does the trick It required Bennett's own goal to spark Wolves into life and striker Jimenez was the perfect spearhead as the English side seized control. His classy turn and instant strike brought Wolves level within two minutes of the opener and he completed his double by rifling into the top corner just before the break.
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2019-08-02 02:00:00
Premier League stars feature in report calling for schedule changes
The health of top footballers is "at risk" according to a global players' union, who have called for "mandatory offseason breaks of four weeks". Fifpro have collated data on 16 elite players and found some played almost 80 matches and travelled over 110,000km last season. Tottenham's Son Heung-min and Liverpool duo Alisson Becker and Sadio Mane were among the players analysed. Fifpro said some players are struggling with "mental and physical strain". In the report Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini said players "need to be protected" while Anderlecht player-manager Vincent Kompany called for "compulsory amounts of rest". What did the Fifpro report say? Fifpro represents 65,000 professional footballers from 63 national players' associations. Their 'The 'At the Limit' report compared the workload of 16 players over the last 12 months with medical science on health and performance capacity. The report claims elite non-European players such as Mane, Alisson and Son are travelling too much without adequate rest when they leave club football for international duty. That players face "match overload" and play fixtures with "less than five days rest" is also raised. Tottenham forward Son played 78 matches and travelled more than 110,000km to represent South Korea Son played 72% of his matches with less than five days rest from his last fixture Liverpool and Brazil goalkeeper Alisson played 72 matches and travelled 80,000km to represent his country Barcelona and Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic played almost three-quarters of games without five days rest in between Liverpool forward Mane played 70 matches and travelled 100,000km to represent Senegal Fifpro general secretary Theo van Seggelen said: "To meet the demands of the match calendar players are being repeatedly asked to play at their limit without sufficient rest and recovery. This means that they cannot perform at their best and, worse still, that some are struggling with sustained periods of mental and physical strain. "Scientific research confirms that the health of top players is at risk because of today's congested match schedule."
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2019-08-02 02:00:00
Nicolas Pepe: Arsenal sign Lille winger for club record fee
Arsenal have signed Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe from Lille for a club record fee of
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2019-08-02 02:00:00
Paul Pogba: Man Utd midfielder travels with squad for pre-season tour
Paul Pogba is in Manchester United's travelling squad for the club's four-match 18-day pre-season tour of Australia, Singapore and China. The France midfielder, 26, has been absent from training this week with boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permission. There has been speculation about his long-term future this summer and in June, he said "now could be a good time to find a new challenge". On Friday, agent Mino Raiola stated again that Pogba wants to leave United. Summer signings Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James are also both in the travelling squad, as is Romelu Lukaku, who has been linked with a move to Inter Milan. Brazilian midfielder Fred and defender Matteo Darmian were both excused from Sunday's trip for personal reasons but are expected to link up with the United squad at some point before they return to England on 26 July. Alexis Sanchez only finished Copa America duty with Chile last night and wouldn't have been involved, even without the hamstring injury he sustained in the third-place play-off defeat by Argentina. United are due to land in Perth on Monday afternoon local time. The play Perth Glory on 13 July and Leeds United on 17 July before flying to Singapore for a game against Inter Milan on 20 July. They finish their trip with a game against Tottenham in Shanghai on 25 July.
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2019-07-08 02:00:00
Ruben Loftus-Cheek signs new Chelsea deal until 2024
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has signed a new deal, which will keep him at the club until 2024. The England international, 23, is currently in rehabilitation as he recovers from rupturing his Achilles tendon in a friendly in May. That meant he missed Chelsea's Europa League final win and England's Nations League finals campaign. He scored 10 goals in 40 games in 2018-19 in what was his breakthrough season at Chelsea. "It's the place where I've grown up playing and hopefully I'll be playing here for a lot longer," said Loftus-Cheek, who joined the west London club at the age of eight. Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said Loftus-Cheek would be a "key player" under new manager Frank Lampard. The Blues are under a transfer embargo after being given a two-window transfer ban by Fifa - a decision they are appealing against at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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2019-07-08 02:00:00
Frank Lampard appointed Chelsea boss: Pat Nevin hopes legend is not tarnished
At first glance it looks like a classic no-brainer. New Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is a club legend, one of Stamford Bridge's greatest players - and arguably the greatest of them all. He has had a reasonably successful introduction to management at Derby, scarcely putting a foot wrong all season and was unlucky not to get his team into the Premier League. He is intelligent, erudite, has superb football knowledge and a perfect understanding of the workings of the club. He is universally loved by the entire Chelsea family and only John Terry and Gianfranco Zola would be given as much leeway if there were rough seas to be navigated in the short term. He also brings along Jody Morris, who has an intimate knowledge of the youth set-up and has championed the cause of those youngsters for years. I worked with Jody on Chelsea TV and I know how fiercely protective and supportive he is of those kids. The fans would love the introduction of more of them to follow in the footsteps of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, so it all just sounds better and better. There is also the recent appointment of Frank's old team-mate Petr Cech as technical advisor, so that could be another dream team scenario for the fans. So what's not to like? Well, first and foremost, when has there been a worse time to take over as manager of Chelsea? There may well be plenty of money at the club but that isn't going to help Frank in the short term if he cannot spend it. The two-window transfer ban is still being contested, but if Chelsea lose that fight then the coming season brings a whole host of problems to contend with.
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2019-07-08 02:00:00
Callum Hudson-Odoi hopeful of new Chelsea deal after Frank Lampard praise
Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is hopeful a new deal can be agreed in the next few weeks after positive words from new manager Frank Lampard. The 18-year-old has one year of his contract remaining and handed in a transfer request in January. But Lampard said he wants the England international to stay, which BBC Sport understands has encouraged the player. Formal contract talks are yet to begin but a five-year deal worth over
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2019-07-08 02:00:00
Arsenal sign Brazilian teenage forward Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal have completed their first transfer of the summer with the signing of Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli. The 18-year-old forward has signed "a long-term contract", the Gunners have confirmed. Martinelli has joined from Brazilian side Ituano, where he had scored 10 goals in 34 games after making his debut in 2017. "I model my game on Cristiano Ronaldo," Martinelli said. "He is a player who works hard, pushing himself to the next level. Always in the run for titles and individual trophies. "This is a dream since I was a child and also my family's dream for me to be playing in Europe and playing for a big team like Arsenal. I am going to take this opportunity." Martinelli was recently called up to train with the senior Brazil national team in preparation for the Copa America. "It was an amazing feeling, a dream come true, being able to be beside great players," he said of that experience. "It is a great opportunity to learn and I enjoyed it as much as I could."
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2019-07-04 02:00:00
Wilfried Zaha: Crystal Palace 'incensed' by Arsenal approach for winger
Crystal Palace have been left incensed by Arsenal's approach to sign Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha. The Gunners have offered