sport news Premier League make major rule change over ball boys and girls as they look to ... trends now

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Ball boys and girls will no longer be able to hand balls directly to players in Premier League matches as the top flight looks to clamp down on teams gaining advantages in this way after several incidents this season.

Tensions spilled over in a recent FA Cup match and Coventry manager Mark Robins was branded ‘disgusting’ for taunting a ball boy at Molineux. The youngster had been taking masses of time to return the ball to Coventry players when home side Wolves were winning.

The incident shone a national spotlight on how teams have been using ball assistants to gain an edge - or put the away team at a disadvantage. Elite clubs such as Manchester City and Liverpool have given direct instructions to kids in the past to make them ‘part of the game plan’.

But several case studies, plus Mail Sport’s special report headlined ‘how ball boys are being weaponised in football's dark arts’, prompted the authorities to act and the League will implement new guidelines with immediate effect.

Ball assistants are no longer allowed to have direct contact with players and must instead place balls on 14 plastic cones placed at strategic points around the pitch. Two balls will be behind each goal and five along each long side - players must take a new ball from one of them.