Weekly refereeing review: 26 October – 2 November 2026

The Laws stayed put this week, and the matches asked officials to apply them in public. IFAB’s advisory panels looked at tempo, holding and the next VAR review, then spent the week

The Laws stayed put this week, and the matches asked officials to apply them in public. IFAB’s advisory panels looked at tempo, holding and the next VAR review, then spent the week publishing the 2026/27 scenarios referees are already running. Sunday at Anfield turned a shirt-pull into a argument about falling over. Midweek at Fleetwood, a violent-conduct red had to be decided without a monitor, and the appeal failed. Under that, The FA put emotional control in front of grassroots officials, and HMRC published a trading-allowance rise that will matter to anyone paid match fees.

What officials should take from this week

The five-second countdown is the throw-in and goal-kick tool. Corners and free kicks stay under the Laws already on the page. The panels called those restarts tactically complex and left them there.
Judge a hold by whether it stops the opponent playing the ball. Staying on your feet is not a waiver. Use that same impact test when the ball has already gone past the attacker.
A kick or strike in retaliation is its own offence. In a competition without VAR, the on-field red is the decision an appeal will test. Reset before the next restart. That was the point of Wednesday’s FA session.

IFAB will not stretch the countdown

The IFAB’s Football and Technical Advisory Panels met online on Tuesday 27 October, chaired by FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström. They reviewed the 2026/27 tempo changes and looked ahead to 2027/28 against a shared wish to keep further amendments few while the game absorbs this year’s Laws.

They left the five-second countdown on throw-ins and goal kicks. They did not support extending it to corner kicks and free kicks. Holding and pushing before corners and free kicks were discussed, and the panels agreed the current Laws already cover them. A single coin toss before a penalty shoot-out was supported: the winning captain would choose the goal or whether to kick first or second. That is a recommendation for the Annual Business Meeting in Zurich on 14 January 2027, not a Law for this Saturday.

The goalkeeper-injury trial, used in England to stop tactical keeper stoppages, drew positive early comments. BBC Sport’s Dale Johnson reported it has been enforced twice in 80 Premier League games: when play stops for the keeper, an outfield player leaves for one minute, with the published exceptions still in force. The Canadian “daylight” offside trial — 54% fewer offsides, 13 extra goals, and defensive lines dropping about three metres across 112 matches — found little support, so English officials should keep officiating today’s offside. The panels were also told a full review of the VAR system and protocol is coming, using stakeholder feedback and independent data.

Saturday takeaway: Whistle, signal, and count five only for a delayed throw-in or goal kick. Manage corners and free kicks with the holding, encroachment and delay tools you already have.

Source: The IFAB — advisory panels continue their focus on tempo disruption · BBC Sport — Dale Johnson on the panels · The IFAB — goalkeeper-injury trial

The 2026/27 drills officials are already running

Alongside the panels, The IFAB posted three working examples officials can take into the next match.

On Wednesday it set this scene: an attacker and a defender collide in a fair challenge, both go down, and both need attention. The referee stops play, allows an on-field assessment, then requires both to leave. Under the off-field treatment protocol, that is the one-minute period. The stay-on exceptions are different collisions: team-mates who collide, or a goalkeeper and an outfield player. A fair challenge between opponents is not one of those exceptions.

On Monday the example was a tactical goalkeeper substitution delayed after the board goes up. The player being replaced has ten seconds to leave. Miss that window and they still leave, play restarts, and the substitute waits for the referee’s signal at the first stoppage after one minute. A caution is for an excessive delay, not for merely missing the ten seconds.

On Thursday, replying in public, The IFAB said a penalty is retaken when the goalkeeper’s offence — encroachment was the example — may have affected the kicker and caused the slip.

On RefChat, the 2026/27 changes thread (90 replies, started Tuesday) is where officials are already comparing notes. The document supports the points they are worrying at. The countdown lives in Laws 15 and 16. Competitions may let VAR correct a clearly wrong corner, including a ball that left over the touchline, only when that correction can be made immediately and the restart has not been taken quickly. Accessories may be worn when they are not dangerous and are safely covered. Dangerous items come off. They are not taped over.

Saturday takeaway: Rehearse three clocks before you go out: five seconds at a delayed throw-in or goal kick, ten seconds for a substitution, one minute off the field after an injury stoppage. Know which collisions are allowed to stay on.

Source: The IFAB on X — fair challenge, both players leave · The IFAB — off-field treatment and assessment protocol · The IFAB on X — goalkeeper delaying the substitution · The IFAB — time-limited substitution protocol · The IFAB on X — penalty retaken after the goalkeeper’s offence · RefChat — IFAB changes for 26-27 · The IFAB — law changes 2026/27 · The IFAB — throw-in and goal-kick countdown protocol

Anfield: a hold is about impact, not a fall

Pro Ref’s Matchweek 9 list sent Andy Madley to Liverpool against Arsenal, with Nick Hopton and Tim Wood on the lines, Tom Bramall as fourth official, and Stuart Attwell on VAR. Arsenal won 1-0. The officiating argument was Alexander Isak and Jurriën Timber.

Isak’s shirt was pulled as he tried to head Bradley Barcola’s cross. He stayed up. Madley gave nothing. Attwell did not intervene. Andoni Iraola called it a clear penalty and said the reason it was withheld was that Isak did not go to ground. He said he will tell his players to go down next time, because “if you don’t go down, you don’t call it.” Virgil van Dijk asked why a player has to appeal when the cameras have already seen the pull. On Sky, Jamie Carragher asked VAR to judge the pull. Gary Neville called Isak’s reaction unusual, because players usually make more of that contact.

Iraola also wanted a penalty for Cody Gakpo, held by Christos Tzolis. Attwell looked and left the on-field decision. Iraola accepted the explanation that the ball was too long for Gakpo to reach, then said that argument only works if the Isak hold, where the ball was there to be headed, is treated as a penalty.

Law 12 still makes holding an opponent a direct free-kick offence. The panels, the same week, said the current text is enough for holding at set pieces. Anfield was the open-play version of the same question. No Key Match Incidents note has been published. The useful line for officials is the one Iraola himself split in two: impact.

Saturday takeaway: Penalise the hold that stops an opponent playing the ball, including when they stay up and try to play on. When the ball has already gone beyond them, the same impact test is the reason to play on.

Source: The Guardian — Iraola on the Isak penalty claim · Sky Sports — the Isak shirt-pull and the Gakpo hold · Premier League — Matchweek 9 match officials · Pro Ref on X — Matchweek 9 appointments

Dowman’s red stood without a monitor

On Tuesday, Michael Salisbury had a different problem. Fleetwood drew 1-1 with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and won 5-3 on penalties. In the 85th minute, 16-year-old Max Dowman kicked out at Harrison Neal after a heavy challenge. Salisbury sent him off for violent conduct. There is no VAR in that round. The decision had to be sold live.

Sky pundit Andy Hinchcliffe called it harsh. Arsenal appealed. On Thursday an independent commission dismissed both claims: wrongful dismissal, and excessive punishment. Dowman serves three domestic matches. The red stands because the kick was judged on its own, not as a footnote to Neal’s tackle.

The same match opened with a Law 5 safety stop. An unrecognised drone held play up for about seven minutes. Salisbury was ready to take both teams off. The drone left, and the game restarted.

Saturday takeaway: A bad tackle does not licence a kick or a strike. In a competition with no monitor, decide violent conduct on what you see, report it cleanly, and expect the appeal to test that call rather than re-referee the match from a sofa.

Source: Sky Sports — Dowman appeal rejected · The Guardian — three-match ban stands · Sky Sports — Fleetwood 1-1 Arsenal match report

Emotions were on the FA curriculum this Wednesday

On Monday, FA Refereeing pointed officials to Wednesday’s Grassroots to Greatness session, “VAR Your Emotions”, online at 7pm. FIFA referee Kirsty Dowle, who officiates in the men’s Football League and the Women’s Super League, and Premier League referee Farai Hallam took the hour. The brief was practical: what control looks like, how emotion changes decisions, and how to recover after a setback.

It sits on the National Refereeing Curriculum’s emotional-control and wellbeing modules. Anfield and Fleetwood were a loud illustration of why the module exists. The next restart is harder if the last flashpoint is still in your face.

Saturday takeaway: After a penalty appeal, a red card, or a technical-area row, finish the admin, breathe, and restart on your signal. The session’s question — what control looks like in the next ten seconds — is a match skill, not a classroom extra.

Source: FA Refereeing on X — Grassroots to Greatness, 28 October · Grassroots to Greatness — VAR Your Emotions · The FA — National Refereeing Curriculum

A £3,000 trading allowance from April 2027

HMRC published the note on 28 October. From 6 April 2027, the trading allowance rises from £1,000 to £3,000, and the Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income rises with it. The point of the change is fewer people doing a return for small amounts of trading or miscellaneous income, and a larger slice of that income covered before tax.

For a referee whose match fees are trading income, gross receipts under £3,000 in 2027/28 sit inside that allowance. Over £3,000, the income is still declared. The allowance can be deducted instead of actual expenses when that is the better figure. This is the shape of the measure, not personal tax advice. Records of fees still matter, because the allowance is claimed against income you can show.

Saturday takeaway: Keep a simple fee record through the rest of this season. From April 2027 the tax-free trading band is £3,000. Know whether you are under it before you assume there is nothing to tell HMRC.

Source: GOV.UK — Increasing the trading allowance · GOV.UK — Income Tax: increasing the trading allowance