The International Football Association Board has agreed to a temporary change to the Laws of the Game that allows five substitutions for leagues resuming play following the coronavirus pandemic.
The temporary amendment “comes into force with immediate effect,” for leagues that have started or intending to start with a scheduled completion before Dec. 31, 2020. Major League Soccer would fall under those parameters. There will still only be three substitution windows for those five changes to be made. Subs can also be made at halftime.
IFAB said the decision was made with players’ welfare in mind with the likelihood of matches “played in a condensed period in different weather conditions.”
The temporary amendment is at the discretion of each individual competition organizer, while IFAB and FIFA will determine at a later stage whether this temporary amendment would need to be extended further.
