Changes to the Laws of the Game will affect Aston Villa in 2025/26 and here is every single one of them

Every summer, football’s law-makers publish their updates to the Laws of the Game. They make it very easy to access and even go to the trouble of calling out every single change that’s been made from the season before.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) consists of FIFA, the Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales and the Irish Football Association. FIFA has four votes, while each individual FA has one.

That voting mechanism is how IFAB ratifies the law changes that are proposed at various waypoints throughout the year. Once they’re changed, the corresponding text is amended in the Laws of the Game.

It couldn’t be more straightforward to maintain a working understanding and educate ourselves before raging at referees. The Laws of the Game document is published on the IFAB website as well as in PDF form and a free mobile app.

I keep them handy all year round because I am a nerd. There are updates that will affect Aston Villa this season as they embark on another year of finding ever more creative ways of unearthing minutiae to their detriment.

Here’s everything you need to know and a few things you don’t.

The Premier League has opted in to ‘only the captain’ guidelines

There first significant change to the Laws of the Game 2025/26 falls under Law 3: The Players.

The following text has been added:

“Competitions may implement the ‘Only the captain’ guidelines listed under ‘Notes and modifications’.”

The explanatory text specifies that competitions are encouraged to implement those guidelines, which means the captain of a team is in effect the only player permitted to enter into discussion with the referee without permission, as we’ve seen in a small number of competitions recently.

The Premier League has opted in.

The eight-second rule

The second major change is to Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct. You’ve heard about this one too and I’ve already seen it enforced.

Goalkeepers will now only be allowed to be in control of the ball with their hands (Villa fans will have a keen understanding of the technical definition of that after the final game of last season) for a maximum of eight seconds.

A goalkeeper holding the ball in their hands for longer than eight seconds will be penalised by the awarding of a corner kick against them.

The following subsequent updates have also been made:

Law 5: The Referee has new text requiring the referee to count down with their fingers the last five seconds of the eight permitted.

Law 17: The Corner Kick has new text ruling that the corner awarded for an eight-second breach is taken from the corner nearest to the goalkeeper’s position when penalised.

The offside rule changes again

IFAB has come up with a heroically specific tweak to the offside rule, or Law 11: Offside to give it its official label.

Don’t get too hung up on this one.

The tweak has to do with what counts as a ‘touch’ of the ball when it comes to determining an offside position – in other words, when the ball counts as having been played.

The definition as it stands and mostly remains is that the first contact on the ball is what matters.

The new text is:

“However, when the ball is thrown by the goalkeeper, the last point of contact should be used.”

Update to ‘Dropped Ball’ law

Law 8: The Start and Restart of Play has been changed so that 8.2 Dropped Ball is applied more fairly.

It now dictates that the ball be given to the team that “has or would have gained possession” rather than the team that last touched it “if this can be determined by the referee”.

Bizarre tweak to Law 9

Law 9: The Ball in and out of Play has been amended so that “If… a team official, substitute, substituted or sent-off player or player who is temporarily off the field of play… touches the ball while it is still in play but when it is clearly leaving the field of play” there is to be an indirect free kick and no further disciplinary action as long as the offending individual doesn’t intentionally interfere with play.

Sure.

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