Premier League to allow five substitutions per team upon sport’s resumption

Premier League clubs have voted to increase the number of substitutes allowed in a match to five for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

Teams will now be able to have nine substitutes on the bench, the league has confirmed.

It follows a temporary dispensation introduced by the game’s law-making body the International Football Association Board.

The purpose of the change is to help manage the workload of players who are returning to action after the suspension of the Premier League due to the coronavirus pandemic, and who are likely to have very little further break before the 2020-21 campaign begins.

The Bundesliga, which returned in May, has adopted the five substitutes rule.

Substitutions can only be made at a maximum of three points in a match, to avoid unnecessary delays.