Clubs in Dutch professional football may again make five substitutions per game next season, the KNVB reports on Tuesday. The rule applies to the Eredivisie, the Kitchen Champion Division, the TOTO KNVB Cup and the Pure Energie Women’s Eredivisie. With this decision, the professional football board of the KNVB again agrees with the temporary change of the rules of the game by the International Game Rules Committee (IFAB) to relieve players during the busy football season.
The IFAB initially made this temporary change last year to ensure the health of players who had to finish the 2019/20 season due to the corona pandemic. Due to the warm weather conditions and the many games close together, the IFAB decided to allow teams to make five substitutions. Because there is still a lot of uncertainty about the course of the coronavirus and the consequences for the competitions, the KNVB has decided to continue to apply the rule next season.
The calendar of matches shows that next season there will only be one free midweek in the autumn and one in the spring. The KNVB reports that about ten other countries have also decided to switch clubs five times. To prevent the game from stopping too often, the five substitutions must be made during a maximum of three substitution moments. In addition to the three substitution moments, substitutions may also be made during halftime. In any extra time, each team may make an extra substitution, even if a team has already made five substitutions.
In addition to the above rule, in the second half of last season, a pilot took place in the Eredivisie and the Kitchen Champion Division that should enable teams to apply an extra substitution if a player was suspected of having a concussion. It will soon become clear whether this pilot will be followed up in both professional and amateur football, the KNVB reports.