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Soccer

Five substitutions a game to continue through next season

Clubs will continue to be allowed make up to five substitutions per game through the course of ne...



Five substitutions a game to c...
Soccer

Five substitutions a game to continue through next season

Clubs will continue to be allowed make up to five substitutions per game through the course of next season. 

Football's lawmakers - IFAB - have agreed to extend the measure which was introduced for clubs completing their season after a pandemic-enforced hiatus.

IFAB initially announced the rule alteration in May "to protect player welfare".

While managers can make five substitutions, they can only do so within three windows during a game.

Extension of the rule alteration will now carry over into international competitions scheduled for July/August 2021.

That means teams during the delayed Euro 2020 tournament will also be afforded five subs per game.

Ultimately, however, the decision on whether to apply this temporary amendment remains at the discretion of each competition organiser.

IFAB say their recent review "has shown that the reasons for the temporary amendment remain valid and the impact on player welfare is likely to continue into 2021 due to various factors, including":

  • Some competitions which resumed in 2020 may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season.
  • For many competitions, the 2020/21 season will involve matches being played in a condensed period due to a delayed start and the inability to end later than usual because of major international tournaments.

Speaking following the rule's introduction, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp conceded that it would mainly benefit sides with deeper squads.

"When you look at [Manchester] City last night and saw who they could change, you think ‘Wow, they can change five times and still Leroy Sane is on the bench'," Klopp said.

“That’s of course not bad. But in the end it’s not about that, it’s really about that we can save the players as much as possible, that we can give them the rest in a time where there is no rest."

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IFAB Premier League Substitutions