Referees are under orders this season to let games flow as freely and legally as possible and that cannot happen when they're blowing for free-kicks all the time.
Innocuous stoppages prevent fans from seeing a free-flowing game of top-flight football.
The Premier League's opening weekend threw up a few examples where, in the past, it might have been tempting to put whistles to lips. But we're applying a higher threshold for fouls. The players, managers and clubs know about this approach, too. They all had this info shared before the season's start and have taken to it well.