Football lawmakers have approved world football governing body, FIFA’s plan to let teams make up to five substitutions in a football match. FIFA proposed the change from three substitutions to five substitutions as a move to protect players’ welfare in the Coronavirus era, as football slowly returns to normal.
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The International Football Association Board (IFAB) gave its nod of approval to a proposal that was submitted by FIFA, but the new law will be applicable only in competitions scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020.
In a statement on Friday, May 8, 2020, IFAB said: “For competitions which have either started or are intended to start but are scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2020, the IFAB has approved FIFA’s proposal to introduce a temporary amendment to Law 3 – The Players. This new law will allow for a maximum of five substitutions to be made per team in every competition.”
To avoid the disruption of the game, each team will have only three opportunities to make substitutions. Substitutions can also be made at halftime. This new law would be at the discretion of the organizers of each competition to monitor its implementation.
On the other hand, Video Assistant Referee (VAR), could also be temporarily suspended with footballing activities re-emerging at a difficult time when it may not always be possible to implement the same technology as before the spread of the Coronavirus.
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The IFAB’s statement added that: “In relation to competitions in which the Video Assistant Referee’s (VAR) system is implemented, these competitions are permitted to cease its use upon its restart, at the discretion of each individual competition’s organizer. However, where VAR is used, all aspects of the laws of the game of football will remain in place.”
The article was written by Walter Ifeakanwa
