FIFA
FIFA wants to let soccer teams use five substitutes to cope with expected schedule congestion caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
FIFA says the temporary plan could help prevent more injuries due to “potential player overload” as soccer competitions catch up with a backlog.
The proposal gives competition organizers the option of letting teams use five substitutes in 90 minutes and a sixth in knockout games that go to extra time.
Teams would still be limited to three stoppages of play to make the changes.
FIFA says the rule could be used by all competitions finishing this year and next and all national team games through 2021.
FIFA’s proposal must be formally approved by rule-making panel IFAB.
A FIFA spokesperson said: "When competitions resume, such competitions are likely to face a congested match calendar with a higher-than-normal frequency of matches played in consecutive weeks.
"Safety of the players is one of FIFA's main priorities. One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload.
"In light of this, and in light of the unique challenge faced globally in delivering competitions according to the originally foreseen calendar, FIFA proposes that a larger number of substitutions be temporarily allowed, at the discretion of the relevant competition organiser.
"In competitions where less than five substitutions are currently allowed, each team would now be given the possibility to use up to five substitutions during the match, with the possibility of an additional substitution remaining during extra time, where relevant."
