Arsenal get verdict on towel use after Riccardo Calafiori controversy vs Newcastle

Premier League stars have been told they CAN carry on using towels before launching long throws. Riccardo Calafiori was caught up in “towel-gate” after referee Jarred Gillett stopped the Arsenal defender from drying the ball in Sunday’s clash at Newcastle.

Fans have been up in arms because Crystal Palace’s Jefferson Lerma also used a towel before launching a long throw in the build-up to Eddie Nketiah’s dramatic late winner over Liverpool on Saturday.

There is no set Premier League rule which stops players from using towels to dry off the ball before launching long throws which have become all the rage in the top flight.

The EFL actually brought in a towel ban three years ago partly because a fan had given his sweatshirt to West Brom’s Darnell Furlong to dry a ball in a game with Peterborough and it was voted through to cut down on time-wasting.

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Former Premier League referee Dermott Gallagher told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch show that both teams have to agree that towels can be used and no such deal had been struck before Newcastle faced Arsenal.

Gallagher said: “I don’t know why the towel is there because both teams have to agree before the match. The agreement wasn’t there so neither of them can use it. I don’t know why it was even there. It was funny.”

The PGMO - Professional Game Match Officials - have confirmed towels can be used and therefore it is open to debate and sportsmanship whether an agreement is needed. However, it is believed there WAS an agreement but it still remains a bit of a mystery why the towel - which belonged to Newcastle keeper Nick Pope - was so far out on the touchline.

Calafiori almost certainly just saw the towel, picked it up and used it to get extra grip before making a throw-in without actually knowing who it belonged to or why it was there.

Ref Gillett is believed to have stepped in because it was Pope’s towel and also because the officials are determined to clamp down on time-wasting which is the whole reason behind the “multi-ball” system in Premier League games.

That is designed to speed games up and also stop time-wasting and therefore it is still the discretion of the referee to step in. But at that stage, it was still in the first half and there was no reason for Arsenal to time waste.

Following the towel ban in the EFL, Wycombe's Luke Leahy was booked for drying the ball on a steward's jacket, while Rotherham's Wes Harding was warned for using a supporter's jumper to dry the ball before taking a throw-in in 2023.

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