UEFA adopts five substitutions rule for “Euro 2020”

The European Football Confederation (UEFA) announced today, Wednesday, March 31st, that it has adopted the rule for the five substitutions in the next European Nations Cup, “Euro 2020”.

The European nations were postponed from last year, due to the emerging corona virus, to next summer.

UEFA said in its statement carried by FMT radio that it had taken a decision to allow the five substitutions, as they are the norm in the World Cup qualifiers extending from March 2021 until March 2022.

Uefa explained, “There are many reasons for adopting the five substitutions rule, the most prominent of which is not to cause confusion in the schedules of local and international competitions affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

And he added: “The rule will also be adopted in the European Nations League finals next October, and the relegation supplement matches in March 2022.”

It is noteworthy that the permitted number of substitutions was raised from three to five, after the resumption of competitions last season following a forced suspension due to the pandemic, and it is adopted in the Champions League, the European League (Europa League), and most of the leagues in Europe except for the English Premier League within the five major leagues.

The decision comes, due to the busy schedules of competitions after their resumption, which would affect the safety of the players, in light of the pandemic the world is going through.

The Euro 2020 tournament will be held from 11 June to 11 July.

It is expected that the European championship will be held in 12 cities divided into 12 European countries, in a rare event, as the tournament was previously held in one host country and the matches are divided among the cities of that country.