January 8 – FIFA has broken new ground by announcing it will trial concussion substitutes at next year’s Club World Cup in Qatar.
Following “extensive consultation with key stakeholders”, FIFA said each team will be permitted to use one concussion substitute per match regardless of how many have already been employed.
In a statement FIFA said the move would “reduce the pressure on medical personnel to make a quick assessment”.
The decision follows a ruling last month by the game’s rule-making body, the International FA Board, to approve immediate trials concussion subs in the wake of intensive pressure from a number of stakeholders.
IFAB said that after recommendations from it Concussion Expert Group, its members had agreed that, “in the event of an actual or suspected concussion, the player in question should be permanently removed from the match to protect their welfare, but the player’s team should not suffer a numerical disadvantage.”
Teams participating in the Club World Cup will be allowed to make up to five normal substitutions per game, FIFA said, as has been the case in most major European leagues and UEFA competitions since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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