PREMIER LEAGUE clubs will be given the option of using up to five substitutes for NEXT season.
Football’s law-making body the International FA Board rushed through Fifa’s proposal for a “temporary” change in laws to allow more replacements in May.
Premier League clubs have been allowed five substitutes in Project Restart – and it will continue into next season tooCredit: Reuters
The switch was a response to fears over the impact of the coronavirus shutdown on player safety when the game returned under a concentrated timetable.
But the announcement of the change came with the confirmation that “the IFAB and FIFA will determine at a later stage whether this temporary amendment would need to be extended further… for competitions due to be completed in 2021”.
The two bodies have now agreed that there should be an extension for next term for competitions that wish to take it up.
Prem clubs voted last month by 16 to four to back Chelsea’s proposals for the extra substitutions and benches to be extended from seven players to nine for the remaining games of this term.
Critics have suggested the changes benefit the bigger and richer teams who can retain a stronger squad and have more “game-changers” on the bench.
But it seems likely that the Prem clubs will want to utilise the opportunity for more bench options for the 2020-21 season and vote to continue with the policy once Ifab’s decision is confirmed.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
