Maguire's departure route passed behind the goal defended by Chelsea in the second half. During the detour, he technically violated Premier League regulations. When the ball rolled into the stands, the defender joked and kicked the ball away from the cone.
According to the multi-ball system, there are two spare balls placed on the cone at the rear of each bottom line flush with the eighteen-yard line. Players need to pick up the ball here to quickly resume the game, a system designed to minimize game interruption time.
Premier League pointed out that the system, first introduced in the 2022-23 season, aims to maintain game fluency and reduce delays, while stressing that compliance with relevant rules and guidelines is crucial to maintain consistency, and more importantly, ensuring that home clubs do not gain a competitive advantage by abusing the system.
According to regulations, players on the court must pick up the game ball or take the ball from the cone, and they shall not accept handing the ball by the caddie. Only goalkeepers who are preparing to kick off the ball can get the ball provided by the caddie behind the bottom line.
The multi-ball system clearly stipulates that participants (including but not limited to players, substitutes, technical area personnel or any other club personnel) shall not interfere with the multi-ball system, game balls or backup balls at any time. Article
added that any violation of the multi-ball agreement will be submitted to the Premier League for further investigations under Premier League rules and may face regulatory penalties.
Although this incident is not expected to have a serious follow-up impact on Manchester United or Maguire, if Maguire is asked about the video content, then when he faces similar situations in the future, he must think twice before acting.