UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has announced their competitions will allow teams to make five substitutes throughout 2020/21.
The law amendment was proposed by football’s world governing body FIFA to assist clubs in managing player workload in a congested calendar created by the Coronavirus pandemic.
UEFA Competitions Stick With Five Substitutions
Premier League Goes its Own Way
The Champions League and Europa League will continue to allow five substitutions this season, aligned with the majority of the major European leagues.
La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga have all continued using the additional subs this season.
The Premier League decided before the start of the new campaign they would revert back to three available changes.
English Clubs’ Disadvantage
The rule change sees the English top-flight fall out of line with the major competitors for silverware.
Premier League clubs Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United will compete in this year’s Champions League.
Arsenal, Leicester City, and Tottenham Hotspur will compete in this season’s Europa League campaign that has already seen Spurs play multiple fixtures.
The league failed to get a majority vote to remain with five available substitutes with many clubs outside the top six citing a disadvantage.
UEFA Statement
President Ceferin said: “After representations from clubs and national associations the executive committee approved the use of five substitutions in club and international matches for the rest of the season.”
UEFA general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann later added: “We will continue to push for further innovative ways to reduce their mounting workload and protect their health and performance.”
UEFA Decisions
The organisation’s executive committee also approved triple-header international breaks in March and September next year.
The decision to move the 2021 UEFA Congress to Switzerland in March next year, rather than the Belarusian capital Minsk.
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