FIFA maintains five substitutions for next season

During the next season and until August of the year 2021, the official parties will follow having five replacements, a measure that applies from the stop of the competitions. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), organism that commissions of the norms of the football, has announced in a communiqué said rule, although afterwards it will have to be approved by each competition of concrete way.

The IFAB announced that the measure will include also the international parties. "After the decision taken on 8 May 2020 to give to the competitions programmed to complete in 2020 the option to allow that the teams use until five substitutes, the Board of Directors of IFAB agreed to review if extend this option even more. On the base of this review in depth, that included comments of the parts interested and an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in the calendars of the competition, the Managerial Board of IFAB has extended the option to the competitions programmed to complete before 31 July 2021 and to the international competitions programmed for July / August of 2021", began the communiqué.

The press release did special upsetting in the protection of the footballers. "The main reason of the temporary amendment to the Law 3 - The players​ was the impact in the welfare of the player of the competitions that play in a condensed period and in different climatic conditions. The recent review has showed that the reasons of the temporary amendment keep on being valid and is likely that the impact in the welfare of the players continue in 2021 because of several factors", prayed the text.

To continuation, the communiqué explained some important factors that have contributed to that the rule implanted after the resumption of the football have continuity. "Some competitions that restarted in 2020 can have a period of recovery / preparation shorter of the usual before the beginning of his next season", specified the IFAB.

The very compressed calendar that there will be the next season like consequence to begin the leagues later and of the presence of the Eurocopa was another reason. "For a lot of competitions, the season 2020/21 will involve parties that play in a condensed period because of a retarded start and the impossibility to finish later of the usual because of the main international tournaments", said the text.

This yes, the five replacements only will be able to do in three batches. "There are not changes in the details of the temporary amendment to the Laws of the Game, what will allow to use a maximum of five substitutes by team. However, to avoid interruptions in the game, each team only will have three opportunities to do replacements, although the replacements done in the half time do not explain like one of the three opportunities", mentioned the IFAB.

Each competition will decide if it keeps the norm

At the end of the communiqué of the IFAB, specified that each federation will be able to choose if it goes on with the norm of the five replacements. "The decision to apply this temporary amendment remains to discretion of each organiser of the competition. The impact cambiante of the pandemia in the football will keep in constant review to guarantee that they take the appropriate measures in the future in relation with this temporary amendment", finalised the note.