No sense in crying foul over return to a more physical game

League fans want to enjoy clattering challenges, so critics of looser refereeing are at odds with prevailing mood

Aremarkable thing has happened in the Premier League; football has gone backwards. The march of dubious progress previously seemed inexorable, all playing it out from the back, striker-less formations and the unacceptable rise of performance base layers instead of long-sleeved shirts.

But two weeks into the season we are witnessing the welcome return of physicality to the top flight. After a European Championship of wonderfully permissive officiating, Professional

Game Match Officials Limited has suggested more leniency across the leagues this season. So far that means firmer tackles, fewer whistles and no one being quite sure what counts as a foul any more.

Fancy-pants midfielders being clattered from behind by burly defenders is not sophisticated, but inevitably leads to roars of approval. The “cunning” supposedly prized in some other countries still will not fly. We want brute force.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is yet to adapt to the tackle-happy new reality. He said there was a “clear foul” on Bruno Fernandes in the build-up to Southampton’s goal against Manchester United on Sunday. Fernandes appeared to shout at the referee, “it’s a f------ foul.” Jack Stephens arrived from behind, as Fernandes controlled a pass close to the touchline. Stephens hooked his leg around the United midfielder’s hip to nick the ball, while bundling him over for good measure.

Forceful, yes. Foul – questionable. Your view will likely depend on whether you support Manchester United. “He goes straight through Bruno,” Solskjaer said. “We can’t go from one extreme, from volleyball or basketball last year, to rugby.”

The rugby comparison seemed much more accurate last season during the Premier League’s most nit-picky moments.

Referees and their video friends intervened constantly with subjective judgments.

Like rugby, football seemed in thrall to a broken set of rules.

Jurgen Klopp also invoked Olympic sport to criticise officiating.

After Liverpool’s win against Burnley, he said: “We have to stick to protecting the players. Watch wrestling if you like those things.” The threat, he said, was football would go “10 to 15 years backwards”. To which many fans would reply: yes please.

By lobbing grenades at the newlyrelaxed PGMOL, Solskjaer and Klopp are at odds with the prevailing mood, which is largely “thank goodness we’ve got our tackles back”. The pro-contact movement must be seen in the context of returning crowds.

Rewatching Stephens on Fernandes with the sound off, without the excitement of a full house, it looks like a clear foul.

Clearly there are drawbacks. Injuries are the implicit worry for managers, although the sort of ball bundle which sent Fernandes to the ground rarely results in serious layoffs. Clashes of heads, reckless slide tackles and flying elbows are far more dangerous and still rightly punished. Looser officiating is a guideline that makes sense in the Premier League, with the safety net of sensibly deployed Var.

It is less certain in the Championship, where the line between meaty tackle and ABH is thinner.

Letting things flow in the second tier has meant at least one challenge in most games which could have resulted in a red card. Sometimes they have come, other times referees have waved play on.

As with any early-season trend, it will settle down. A natural limit of physicality will be reached, and Solskjaer will likely get his wish of a midpoint between rugby and basketball. Gridiron, perhaps.

For now, enjoy the meaty tackles while you can.