What's new in the Premier League: War on holding, keeper rule, RefCam - ESPN

The 2025-26 Premier League season kicks off on Friday when champions Liverpool host AFC Bournemouth.

As ever, the new campaign comes with some law changes and a series of initiatives. Here's what you need to look out for.

Throughout the second half of last season, players holding an opponent inside the penalty area seemed to be on the increase — and now it will be an area of focus for referees in 2025-26.

The question, of course, is whether this will be clamped down on for a few weeks and then forgotten about.

Whenever an initiative like this comes around, there can tend to be accusation that referees are being over-zealous. It then gets scaled back, and we end up back where we started.

But there's an admission that referees have too often allowed extreme holding, and a line needs to be drawn.

Referees are also going to be encouraged not to offer repeated warnings, and instead penalise the offence. That means we should not keep seeing corners delayed while a referee speaks to players (though this would happen initially), as they have been told to run the play and give the penalty.

What will the referee and the VAR be looking for? It's contact which impedes an opponent's movement, as simply holding of a shirt isn't an offence — there must be an impact.

The considerations:

— Sustained holding. If the holding is fleeting, there may be no impact on the opponent

— Impact on an opponent's ability to play or challenge for the ball

— A clear non-footballing action where the offending player has no interest in playing the ball

— Mutual holding by both players usually will not be penalised

There's also going to be a focus on simulation, so we may see more cautions for this across the season. And that includes when, foe