Football laws panel gets leagues’ request for concussion subs

A request by the Premier League and Major League Soccer to use temporary substitutes for play‐ ers with suspected concussion will go to a meeting Wednesday of the game's lawmaking panel.

The leagues have been joined by France's Ligue 1 in asking to start a more flexible protocol for head injuries in their next season — which for MLS opens Feb. 25 — after trials were already re‐ jected last June by the soccer laws panel, known as IFAB.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and IFAB have supported letting teams instead make an extra per‐ manent substitution to replace players with suspected concus‐ sion.

That policy at the World Cup in November saw Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand continue to play after several minutes of treat‐ ment following a clash of heads with a teammate early in a 6‐2 loss to England.

Beiranvand soon asked to be substituted and was carried off on a stretcher.

The leagues and the global soc‐ cer players' union FIFPRO be‐ lieve temporary substitutions are a quick response to a head in‐ jury, giving time for medical staff to make a full assessment with‐ out the pressure of a game con‐ tinuing while their team is missing one player.

The current mindset of "if in doubt, take them out" for treat‐ ing players with head injuries is not working, FIFPRO general secretary Jonas Baer‐Hoffmann said.

FIFPRO has lobbied IFAB on the issue, saying "conditions for a thorough and appropriate exam‐ ination to inform clinical deci‐ sion making are inhibited by traditional sporting rules."

The union has suggested up to 10 minutes are needed for play‐ ers to be properly assessed pitch‐side.

A temporary substitute would then become permanent if the in‐ jury player cannot continue. Baer‐Hoffmann said soccer bod‐ ies in England and the United

States are leading on the issue with debate and research into concussion and head injuries in sport at a more advanced stage.

The meeting at Wembley Sta‐ dium on Wednesday should set the formal agenda for IFAB's an‐ nual decision‐taking meeting due on March 4.

Both meetings will be hosted by the English Football Associa‐ tion.

FIFA has four of the eight IFAB votes with one each for the Eng‐ lish, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh associations.

Six of the eight votes are needed to approve any changes to the laws of the game, which cannot pass if FIFA objects.