Five subs? Five? That's insane
Five substitutes will be allowed next season, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have announced.
The rule to allow teams to make five substitutions was initially brought in to mitigate the unique conditions teams would be playing in: shorter rest periods between matches, hotter temperatures and a lack of fitness after a break of four months.
But leagues will be able to keep the rule in place if they want to for next season, due to start in mid September.
A statement from IFAB said: "Following the decision taken on 8 May 2020 to give competitions scheduled to be completed in 2020 the option of allowing teams to use up to five substitutes, The IFAB Board of Directors had agreed to review whether to extend this option further.
"On the basis of this in-depth review based on stakeholder feedback and analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on competition calendars, The IFAB Board of Directors has approved to extend the option to competitions scheduled to be completed by 31 July 2021 and international competitions scheduled in July/August 2021.
"The main reason for the temporary amendment to Law 3 - The Players was the impact on player welfare of competitions being played in a condensed period and in different weather conditions.
"The recent review has shown that the reasons for the temporary amendment remain valid and the impact on player welfare is likely to continue into 2021."
Several big names in football have opposed this decision, notably Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. The foes-turned-friends and Sky Sports pundits both tweeted their anger at the ruling.
https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1283406624934305793
https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/1283410478706892803
Opposition to extending the number of substitutions a team is allowed to make is usually rooted in the idea that it would be more beneficial to the bigger teams, with more money and therefore bigger squads. And it would therefore increase the size of the already huge gulf between the powerhouses of football and the smaller teams.
A domino effect of that could be that big teams will find it easier to recruit players intended for rotation purposes, as they can promise them more game time.
