Football to allow 5 substitutes when play resumes, says IFAB
The change will apply to competitions scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31 of this year
Football teams will be allowed to use five substitutes when play resumes after the coronavirus pandemic, the sport’s lawmaking body announced on Friday.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) said in as statement that it had agreed to a proposal by world governing body FIFA for a temporary change to the rules “to protect player welfare.” Teams face likely fixture congestion in a packed calendar as they attempt to make up for lost time when play can resume.
The layoff is expected to have an impact on player fitness levels too. It also said that competitions which were using video assistant referee (VAR) would be allowed to drop it for the time being.
The change will apply to competitions scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31 of this year, although FIFA and IFAB left open the possibility that the period could be extended.
While teams will be able to make five substitutions, “to avoid disruption to the game, each team will only have three opportunities to make substitutions” as well as at halftime or before extra time. In competitions that allow an additional substitution in extra time, teams will have an additional substitution opportunity.
The previous limit on outfield substitutes for top-level competitions has been three in regulation time.
Elsewhere in Europe, Britain’s Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warned that the Premier League does not yet have the “green light” to resume but restated the government’s hope that the season can be completed.
Premier League clubs are due to meet on Monday to discuss the latest plans for “Project Restart” — a day after an expected minor easing of coronavirus lockdown measures.