The great corner debate: Why the penalty area nonsense is borderline illegal, how weak referees have allowed the set piece chaos to dominate - and what it all means for the World Cup: IAN LADYMAN
Most of the games I see in the Premier League are not for me a joy to watch. You just have to accept it.’So as the Premier League threatens to become defined not by its beauty but by its muscle, Football Editor IAN LADYMAN looks at the debate that has fractured English football. Watching players block, pull and hold at corners is becoming an increasingly unedifying spectacleARE MODERN TACTICS AT CORNERS EVEN LEGAL? The only two Arsenal players in the vicinity – William Saliba and Martin Zubimendi – make no attempt to get there and as such never leave the ground. However, there is no way that FIFA’s group of international referees will tolerate the levels of penalty area nonsense that have been allowed to form a backdrop of the current Premier League season.
Source: Metro March 03, 2026 00:12 UTC
