As we approach the start of the new season, we’ll be limbering up those vocal chords ready to yell our displeasure at the person with the whistle or the flag when we perceive an injustice against us.

So what can we expect from refereeing this season in the Championship?

CAST Chair Heather McKinlay recently attended an update organised by the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA). The big news first off is that English referees have rebranded themselves as “ProRef”, recognising that PGMOL was a bit of an unwieldy mouthful. There has also been a restructure to allow more movement of refs between divisions rather than having a defined pool for each. For a while now the organisation has offered a more public and engaging face, including meeting regularly with the FSA and holding seminars with fan representatives.

In terms of what’s on the yellow and red cards for the coming season, we should hope to see more free-flowing matches given the ongoing emphasis that football is a contact sport. If two opposing players are grappling (for example at a corner) then the ref is unlikely to intervene. Likewise there will be a high threshold for contact on the keeper. Handball should only be given when it is clear and obvious – a move towards the ball with the hand or using the arm to make the body bigger. This still sounds open to fairly wide interpretation though. Interestingly, the speakers highlighted that we should expect consistency from the ref within a particular match around contact, time-wasting, dealing with confrontation etc. However, each ref is a professional in their own right so we should not expect them all to referee in exactly the same way.

There is an ongoing emphasis on good behaviour on the pitch and in the technical area. Let’s see if Nathan Jones can control those touchline emotions. We’re promised a clampdown on simulation. Perhaps the biggest change from a Charlton point of view is a trial to prevent tactical goalkeeper injuries. If a keeper goes down, apart from a few exceptional circumstances, the manager must quickly nominate an outfield player to leave the pitch for a minute or else this will be the captain. What if the goalie is the captain? The ref will enquire pre match for a nominated alternative outfield captain. So that’s one loophole closed. The refs have briefed every club on the changes so even Nathan Jones should know what to expect. That would have been an interesting meeting.

One of the remarkable things at this year’s World Cup was how rarely the medical team needed to enter the pitch, presumably because one minute on the sidelines was a strong deterrent with extraordinary healing powers. When asked about this, our English refs expressed concern about protecting player welfare. We’ll have to see if the increase from 30 seconds to 60 seconds out of the game in the coming season results in more players trying to hobble on / run off a knock.

The clampdown on timewasting with five second countdowns for throw-ins and goal kicks (which would result respectively in a reversal of the throw -in or a corner) includes a large degree of discretion for the referee. They decide when the countdown starts so, for example, it should not impact a left back needing to cross the pitch to take an attacking long throw in the normal course of the match. But if the ref perceives it to be time-wasting, say only happening late on when defending a lead, then the power is there. The refs spoke openly on the call about how they were completely in tune with momentum swings in matches and being aware of teams deliberately slowing things down. Some fans on the call commented that the eight second release by goalkeepers was not consistently applied across last season and the refs acknowledged the need to address this.

Another significant change – which the refs say will be fully enforced – is the ten second rule for substitutions. This starts from the time the fourth official raises the board. If the outgoing player has not left the pitch within ten seconds, the incoming player will have to wait on the sidelines for at least another minute AND until the next break in play. The team may not choose to stop the substitution or to change who the substitute is at this point.

Every week the Championship referees meet to review all Key Match Incidents – penalties given or not, offsides, disallowed goals etc. Clubs can submit incidents for review as can the match referee and the attending referee observer/ coach. This is how they strive to ensure consistency and accuracy in major decision making. Though as we know, football remains a game of opinion!

Here’s a link to further detail, including hair-pulling, for the 26/27 season:

https://thefsa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Match-official-approach-2627-EFL.pdf