The referees’ chief Mike Riley has revealed that video assistant referees will not impose the tough line on handballs in the Premier League next season that has led to numerous controversial penalties in the Women’s World Cup and Champions League.

Riley, the managing director of the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), said that many of the penalties awarded for handball in the Women’s World Cup and Champions League — including those awarded against Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose and Moussa Sissoko in the Champions League quarter-final and final respectively — would not be given in the Premier League.

The former top-flight referee said that officials will be told to minimise the disruptive impact of VARs by having “a high line of intervention”. It comes after