Chief referee Howard Webb stated the need to tighten control over players' actions related to tackling and holding during corner kicks and free kicks in the Premier League next season.
The Premier League has announced a new rule concerning set pieces, and public attention has focused on Arsenal, which received significant criticism last season for dominating these situations.
Premier League clubs were sent a warning that officials will be stricter about actions involving holding and tackling during corners and free kicks in the upcoming season.
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer in English football, believes that last season there were too many instances where defenders pulled attackers to the ground, and these infringements went unpunished during corners and free kicks.
Arsenal's success in winning the Premier League title is partly attributed to their skill in set-piece routines, while managers and fans of opposing teams complained about the 'Canaries'' habit of battling opponents before the ball was delivered.
Webb insists that referees and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) staff show greater attention to this issue, starting with the match between Arsenal and Coventry at the Emirates Stadium on the first day of the season on Friday.
He noted that fans can expect fewer cautions from referees (before foul calls) than before, as these warnings caused disappointment. However, according to him, spectators will see more punishable situations, and this will happen not only in August or September but throughout the entire season.
A change for the coming season is the ability for VAR to check attacking misconduct during corners and lead to a replay, followed by a goal, a penalty award, or disciplinary action.
However, Webb, who was previously a Premier League and FIFA referee, does not want the game to be disrupted by endless stoppages due to fouls during corners. He stressed that contact remains part of the game, and they maintain a high threshold for what is acceptable.
He suggested that in a year, they could assess the season in which more infringements were penalized.
Furthermore, Webb expressed concern over FIFA's decision to lift the ban on US national team forward Folarin Balogun for a red card during the World Cup. Webb fears a growing belief among fans in the existence of referee conspiracies following the Balogun scandal.
This scandal included the admission by US President Donald Trump that he had informed FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the need to review the incident. Webb stated that this greatly concerned him because it was acknowledged that the politician exerted pressure on FIFA.
He added that the lifting of the suspension was done specifically for this tournament and went through a process that seemed non-existent before the start of the tournament. Previously, decisions were judged as right or wrong based on the referee's judgment, whereas now decisions are often perceived by people on social media as right or corrupt.