The Premier League has instructed ball boys and girls to refrain from passing balls back to the players.
This new rule aims to prevent confrontations on the sidelines and avoid giving the home team an undue edge.
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ESPN sources report that this rule change is not a direct response to the incident at Coventry City’s FA Cup quarterfinal victory over Wolves.
In that event, Coventry’s manager Mark Robins faced criticism from Wolves’ Gary O’Neil for engaging with a ball-boy who hesitated in returning the ball during the game’s final moments.
Additionally, Fulham’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno had an altercation with a ball boy in a Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in December.
Previously, ball assistants would gather and return balls to players, but the Premier League has revised this practice due to concerns that it could be exploited to the visiting team’s detriment.
Now, according to an update to Rule L.35 in the Premier League Handbook concerning the multi-ball system, players are required to retrieve the ball themselves from cones placed around the pitch perimeter whenever it goes out of play.
The rule now states that “Ball Assistants are only allowed to retrieve match balls and replace them on the vacant cones and are not permitted to return a ball directly to a player.”
To expedite gameplay and minimize delays, the Premier League has introduced a new system where 14 balls, with seven on each side of the pitch, will be readily accessible. This is an increment of four balls compared to the old arrangement.
Ball assistants are now tasked with placing a ball back on an empty cone whenever one goes out of play, and they must avoid standing near the ball cones.
Furthermore, the Premier League has directed that, where feasible, ball assistants should be seated behind the advertising hoardings at pitchside.
