Football Bundesliga: What changes in the 2025/26 season

The Bundesliga is back and begins with a real cracker: on August 22nd, master FC Bayern welcomes RB Leipzig (8.30 p.m./Sat.1 and Sky). In addition, the Hamburger SV is back in the German Oberhaus after seven years of second class. So the new season promises spectacle. But she also brings with it some changes to which players, coaches and fans have to prepare. What is new in this season.

This change is intended to make more transparency in referee decisions: In all stages of the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga, the German Football League (DFL) introduces from the 2025/26 season after a review by the video evidence. Previously there had been a successful pilot phase in the second half of the season. For the first division, the innovation applies from the first matchday, the second division begins from the ninth day.

In addition, semi -automatic offside technology is introduced in Germany’s two highest play classes. The new technology is intended to ensure that narrow offside decisions can be made much faster. According to DFL, the offside detection is based on data that records high-resolution special cameras in the stadiums. They are able to track the movements of the players and the ball in real time. Artificial intelligence analyzes this data in order to calculate the exact positions of the players and the ball.

Players and fans have to prepare for significantly longer temporary times in the new season. Because the minimum posting time due to interruptions should be calculated in the future. The net minutes were last almost 60 minutes. DFB Schiri GmbH assumes that the pure playing time increases significantly due to the change. According to this, clubs have criticized in the past that impartial selanding the stoppage time is too arbitrary. In order to prevent this in the future, the second video assistant notes the lost time through interruptions.

Goalkeepers can check the ball for eight seconds by hand or arm from the new season. The referee shows the last five seconds as a countdown by hand. If the goalkeeper still holds the ball after the time without being prevented from being discounted, the opposing team receives a corner kick.

The football control guardians come towards the players in a point of dispute: If a penalty shooter accidentally touches the ball at the shot twice-for example by shooting himself at his main leg-and scores a goal in this way, the penalty will be repeated in the future. In the past it had caused resentment that the attempt was declared invalid in this case. If the player does not meet in the second attempt after the double contact, it continues with an indirect free kick as before.

There are also new rules when touching the ball by team officials or players who are not on the pitch: If they touch the ball before it is out of the game, without unfair intention, this only leads to an indirect free kick for the opposing team. Unlike before, there is no more personal punishment for it.

In the future, the referee ball will be carried out at the point where the ball was at the time of the game interruption. In addition, the team who was in possession of the ball receives him – provided that this is clearly recognizable for the referee. If this is not the case, the referee ball is awarded to the team, which has last touched the ball.

Another innovation is the so-called Handshake dialog. The referee team, the coaches and captains of both teams meet around 70 minutes before kick -off in the referee cabin. According to the DFL, the meeting serves the respectful handling and mutual exchange in the sense of the fair play.

For the first time, the DFL used a small special camera on the headset of the referee, the so -called REF CAM, in February 2024. She films the game from the point of view of the referee. The camera is to be used much more often in the new season, explained DFL managing director Steffen Merkel-“Less for the live area, more for the highlight and social media area “. According to this, 40 to 50 games are planned with the Refcam.

The DFL has not yet made stricter rules for ball children a mandatory, but it recommends it to the Bundesliga clubs. Ball children should no longer throw the balls to the players, but rather place them on marking tiles on the edge of the field. The aim is to “promote the fairness in the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga by faster resuming the game and reducing the time game,” said the DFL of German press agencywith. In the new season, more Bundesliga clubs could implement this procedure.

With the 2025/26 season, a new four -year right cycle begins. There are central changes, especially at two appointments on the weekend: The games on Friday evening (8:30 p.m.) takes over Sky from DAZN. And on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) the conference will no longer run at Sky, but for the first time at DAZN. This leads to double structures that have not yet been known. At the classic Bundesliga era on Saturday afternoon, there will be two channels live in the future: Sky at the individual games, dazn with the conference. RTL acquired the rights for the second division game on Saturday evening (8.30 p.m.) on free TV. The Bundesliga Sunday remains at DAZN. You can find an overview of the costs of the various streaming subscriptions here.

Transparency note: The star belongs to RTL Germany.

Sources: with dpa material