ZURICH: FIFA has proposed that teams should be allowed to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, as a temporary measure to help cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Football has been at a standstill since mid-March but many leagues and federations are still hoping to complete the season but to do so they would have to cram fixtures into a shorter period than usual once play re-starts.

FIFA detailed a temporary plan on Monday to help prevent more injuries due to potential player overload as football competitions catch up with a backlog.

The proposal gives competition organisers the option of letting teams use five substitutes instead of three in 90 minutes, and a sixth in knockout games that go to extra-time.

“One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload,” FIFA said in a statement.

“Each team would now be given the possibility to use up to five substitutions during the match, with the possibility of an additional substitution remaining during extra time, where relevant,” it explained.

FIFA added that the substitutions would have to be made in a maximum of three slots plus the halftime interval.

Clubs such as Manchester City face an intense program in three competitions if games can safely restart in the coming weeks.

City could have 19 more games 10 in the Premier League, up to six in the Champions League and up to three in the FA Cup being scheduled in as few as 10 weeks through August.

Juventus could need 20 more: 12 in Serie A, up to six in the Champions League, and two Coppa Italia games.

The proposal must be signed off by football’s rule-making panel, known as IFAB.

IFAB approval should be a formality on a panel which includes officials from FIFA and the four British national federations.

FIFA suggested retaining the five-substitute rule next season, which looks likely to start later and be condensed into less time.

It would also apply to all national-team games through December 2021.

World Cup qualifying programmes are already behind schedule in Asia and South America, and are on track to face problems in Europe next year.

After UEFA postponed the 2020 European Championship by one year, that tournament is now set to take fixture dates in June from the 2022 World Cup qualifying groups.

One solution would be national teams playing three competitive games instead of two during the 10-day periods when clubs are mandated to release players for international duty.

The substitutes proposal was announced in anticipation of soccer resuming though it is unclear when that will happen. Games will be played in stadiums without fans for at least several weeks and likely longer.

FIFA said that “football should only resume when the health authorities and governments say it is absolutely safe and non-disruptive of health services being delivered to the populations.”

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2020