Reintroduction of five substitutes rejected by Premier League Clubs for the third time; Approves concussion replacements

Premier League clubs, during a shareholders’ meeting on Thursday, have voted against allowing teams to make five substitutions per match for the third time.

A host of PL managers have called for the top flight to adopt the change, with Jurgen Klopp calling it a “necessity” and Pep Guardiola labelling the current three substitute limit a “disaster”.

But the Premier League currently remains the only major league in Europe not to have kept the five substitute limit that was introduced when domestic football resumed towards the end of last season.

The proposal had been previously voted against twice prior to the 2020/21 campaign and has again failed to meet the threshold of 14 votes in favour at a meeting of the 20 clubs.

However, teams will be permitted to name nine players on the bench, up from the previous seven, from this weekend.

Premier League clubs approve concussion substitutes

The Premier League clubs despite voting against the 5 substitution rule were in favour of introducing permanent concussion substitutions.

• Concussion substitutes trial approved by IFAB from January 2021

Should players be under suspicion of sustaining, or diagnosed with, a concussion, teams will be able to use up to two additional replacements per game.

The move comes after the International Football Association Board (IFAB) - which governs the laws of the game - approved the rule change on a trial basis on Wednesday.

The Premier League will now apply to IFAB to take part in the trial, which begins next month.