Premier League to be allowed extra subs

Football authorities have given the green-light for extra concussion substitutes as part of a new safety policy.

The latest meeting of the International FA Board agreed that player safety must be a priority.

Ifab is now set to back ‘additional permanent substitutes’ for potentially concussed players, trials of the new approach are set to start in January 2021 which could include the Premier League. A final decision will come at December’s annual business meeting of Ifab.

“Therefore, the group agreed that applying an ‘if in doubt, take them out’ philosophy would be the best solution to safeguard the health of football players.”

ClaretandHugh says: While player safety should always come first it will be interesting how often this will be used and who decides when a player is concussed. If not properly policed and verified we could see a sudden spate of players holding their heads and looking dazed in an attempt to get an extra substitution and  advantage for their team.