Tue, January 20, 2026
Premier League calls for football lawmakers to trial temporary concussion subs
The Premier League, along with other leagues and player unions, are calling for football lawmakers to trial temporary concussion substitutes to improve player welfare. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has previously dismissed calls for trialling temporary concussion substitutes, such as during its AGM in March 2023, after a group of leagues proposed the trial.
In 2024, permanent concussion substitutes were introduced and IFAB believes this is sufficient. This means once a player has concussion, they cannot go back on the pitch, but the Premier League argues that only using permanent substitutes means players are less likely to leave the match even if they have experienced concussion. With temporary substitutes, players are removed for a check-up for around 10 -15 minutes and can make a return if not concussed. According to its research, between 27% and 53% of players diagnosed with a concussion are not immediately replaced with only permanent substitutes allowed.
Since temporary substitutes have been introduced in rugby union, the number of athletes returning to the field has fallen from 58% to 8%. In America’s National Football League (NFL), fewer than 2% of athletes have returned to the field.
28 other leagues and player unions are in support of the Premier League’s calls for temporary replacements and have signed the proposal. This includes FIFPRO, which has cited evidence from the British Journal of Sports Medicine to support the proposal, Serie A, France’s Professional Football League, Major League Soccer, Premier Soccer League South Africa, the European Leagues and World Leagues Association. These leagues and player unions are hoping to change IFAB’s mind during its annual meeting this week.
Premier League plans to share its learnings with IFAB and FIFA. It hopes that by IFAB’s next meeting on 28 February, the temporary substitutes will get approval. However, Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, has previously voiced that permanent substitutes ensure “zero risk.”
The Premier League, with support from the English Football League (EFL) and Professional Footballers Association (PFA), has offered to run the trial to provide results. In 2022, the PFA voiced that temporary substitutes would “allow for medical staff to conduct more detailed and lengthy checks of the potentially injured player away from the field of play.”
To prevent teams taking advantage of the temporary subs, the opposition team would be given an additional substitution, and video footage of all incidents will be reviewed to determine legitimacy.
