The Premier League will start their trial the use of concussion substitutes from today, meaning the Hammers trip to Craven Cottage will be one of the first eligible games for the new rule. The new regulation means up to two permanent substitutions can be made in the event of head injuries, even if all three replacements have already been used. The first match of the trial is scheduled to be the 12:30 pm kick-off between Aston Villa and Arsenal.
It will run until the end of the 2020-21 season but can be extended into the 2021-22 campaign.
The Premier League will be the first league in men’s football to introduce concussion substitutes, having formally approved the trial during a shareholders’ meeting last month.
Fifa, football’s world governing body, will also trial substitutions for actual or suspected concussion at the Club World Cup in Qatar, which starts on 4 February, though teams will only be able to make one substitution per match.
The International Football Association Board, the body that makes and approves the laws of football, approved the trials of concussion substitutes at a meeting in December. There have been growing calls for their introduction amid concern over links between head injuries in football and dementia.