Football lawmakers to permanently bring in five substitutions rule

The use of five substitutes will be introduced into the laws of the game when football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, meet in Doha on Monday.

The rule was brought in during May 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It will now implemented prior to the 2022-23 season at the discretion of the organisers of a competition.

Ifab’s agenda also includes discussing concussion substitutes and semi-automated offside technology.

The Premier League became the only major competition not to continue with five substitutions and go back to a maximum of three in a match for the 2020-21 season.

Some clubs felt it gave those with bigger squads an unfair advantage and it was not brought in for the 2021-22 season either, despite Ifab recommending that five substitutions be implemented permanently in the sport in October 2021.

However, Premier League clubs agreed to allow five substitutions for 2022-23 following a vote in March.

Ifab says the substitutions can be made on three occasions during a match, excluding any changes at half-time, while a potential sixth change can be made if a match goes to extra time.

In terms of concussion substitutes and semi-automated offside technology, they will only be discussion points during the Ifab meeting in Doha.

Ifab approved a trial in December 2020 which only allowed for permanent concussion substitutions, although the Professional Footballers’ Association has called for temporary substitutions to be brought in as part of the testing.

Fifa has held trials of semi-automated offside technology at the Fifa Club World Cup and the Fifa Arab Cup and could use it at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year.

It works by using 10 dedicated cameras, as well as several television cameras, which collect up to 29 data points for every player 50 times per second.

“We’re continuing a test to try to achieve the objective: to have more accurate decisions and also quicker decisions in offside incidents,” Pierluigi Collina, chairman of Fifa’s referee committee, said in February. “Someone called it robot offside; it’s not.

“The referees and the assistant referees are still responsible for the decision on the field of play.

“The technology only gives them valued support to make more accurate and quicker decisions, particularly when the offside incident is very tight and very difficult.”