VAR will be able to intervene when a second yellow card rests on a clear factual mistake-for example, when a player is booked for a trip but there was no contact. It can also correct mistaken identity, but only where the wrong player was punished for the same infringement.
That boundary matters: referees’ subjective judgements remain outside the review process. The change is a safeguard against obvious errors, not a route to revisit every debatable foul.
Players treated or assessed on the pitch must leave for at least one minute. The league already required a 30-second absence last season, during which on-field treatment fell by 70%. The longer limit extends that effort to keep play moving.
When a referee judges a throw-in or goal-kick to be delayed, a five-second countdown will begin. If time expires, possession changes through a throw-in or corner, depending on the restart. Substituted players must leave within 10 seconds; otherwise, their replacement waits until the next stoppage or until a minute has passed, whichever comes first.
The Premier League will not adopt every measure trialled at the 2026 World Cup. VAR will not review a corner simply because it was awarded incorrectly, and covering the mouth during a confrontation will not automatically bring a red card. There will also be no mandatory hydration breaks.
The opening weeks will show whether officials apply the new clocks consistently while preserving the distinction between factual mistakes and judgement calls. That balance-not the number of reviews-will determine whether the changes improve the flow of matches.