IFAB approves ‘five substitutions’ rule permanently

International Council of Football Associations (IFAB) formally authorized the operation of the rule by which clubs acquired the right to hold five substitutions instead of the usual three. The rules will come into effect from the 2022-2023 season.

Thus, the rule of “five substitutions” involves the following actions:

– each team will be allowed to use no more than five substitutions;

– to reduce the number of stoppages in the match, each team will have a maximum of three opportunities to make substitutions during the game; substitutions may also be made at half-time;

– if both teams make a substitution at the same time, this counts as one of the three possibilities for each team;

– unused substitutions are carried over to extra time;

– where the competition rules allow for an additional substitution in extra time, each team will have one additional substitution opportunity; substitutions may also be made before the start of extra time and during a break in extra time.

In addition, for the consideration of the organizers of the tournaments, a decision was made to increase the number of substitute players – from 12 to 15.

The meeting also addressed issues of disrespect for referees, testing substitutions due to concussions, possible offside alternatives, a number of innovations, including counting playing time and kicking the ball into play. Most questions will continue to test.

Recall that the “five substitutions” rule was introduced against the backdrop of the return of the championships from a long quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding concerns for the health and shape of players without active practice.