The Premier League has told its referees to recalibrate how they officiate hair pulling incidents, walking back a zero-tolerance approach that produced three straight red cards during the 2025/26 season.
What happened and why it matters
During the 2025/26 campaign, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) classified hair pulling as violent conduct, triggering automatic red cards and three-match bans for any confirmed incident. The policy had been in place since at least December 2022 under chief refereeing officer Howard Webb.
Three players found out the hard way. Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez was sent off in April 2026. Sunderland’s Dan Ballard followed with a dismissal in May 2026. A third player also received a straight red under the same directive during the season.
Each dismissal carried a mandatory three-match suspension.
