Peter Walton, general manager of the Professional Referee Organization, has announced that referees will prioritize “four points of emphasis” in 2017.
Walton said that MLS referees have been instructed to pay closer attention to holding and pushing in the penalty area on set pieces, acts of visual dissent, deliberate delaying of restarts, and persistent infringement.
In addition, MLS has adopted several new laws this season based on the IFAB, or International Football Association Board, who decides the rules.
The major changes include no longer automatically giving red cards for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity in the penalty area, kickoffs now being permitted to be played in any direction, and players who were injured by a yellow or red card foul now being able to briefly receive treatment on the field without having to come off.