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Concussion subs, handball and offside – the key IFAB news explained

The game’s lawmakers met for their annual business meeting on Wednesday.

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The International Football Association Board met on Wednesday for its annual business meeting with concussion substitutes, the handball law and the offside law on the agenda.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main outcomes from the meeting.

What did the IFAB decide on concussion?

It has given the green light to competitions to apply to try out one of two protocols involving additional permanent concussion substitutes. Under the first, a team can make one additional substitution where concussion is suspected, but the opposition cannot make a change to compensate. The second, which the Football Association will adopt for a number of its competitions including the FA Cup, allows teams to make up to two concussion substitutes with the opposition permitted to make the same number of changes. In conjunction with allowing teams to make five changes in 90 minutes during an FA Cup tie, plus a further one in any tie going to extra-time, it means teams could use eight substitutes in a match. That could even in theory be 10 substitutions in the extremely remote event of both sides having two players who must come off with suspected concussion in a match which goes to extra-time. IFAB is yet to provide clarity on this.

Why did it decide to allow permanent substitutions, rather than temporary ones?

IFAB feel it is the safest approach. The FA’s head of medicine Dr Charlotte Cowie said there was a “flaw” in the temporary substitute approach, and pointed to World Rugby data which showed 15 per cent of players who were allowed back on after an assessment were later diagnosed with concussion, which she described as “false negatives”. The FA feel the approach it is following chimes with its ‘If In Doubt, Sit Them Out’ approach to concussion.

What has the reaction been?

Brain injury charity Headway criticised the protocols, as did Dr Willie Stewart, the lead researcher in the FIELD study which focused on the prevalence of neurodegenerative disease among former footballers. He said it was akin to putting “lipstick on a pig”.

Will other competitions follow suit?

David Luiz of Arsenal and Wolves' Raul Jimenez lie on the ground after a clash of heads
David Luiz of Arsenal and Wolves’ Raul Jimenez lie on the ground after a clash of heads (John Walton/PA)

How long will the trials run?

How about five substitutes?

IFAB has extended the temporary law amendment to allow up to five substitutions until December 2021 for domestic competition
IFAB has extended the temporary law amendment to allow up to five substitutions until December 2021 for domestic competition (Aaron Chown/PA)

What did IFAB say about handball?

IFAB technical director David Elleray said clarification of the handball law could be approved at the AGM in March
IFAB technical director David Elleray said clarification of the handball law could be approved at the AGM in March (David Davies/PA)

Did they talk about offside?

Arsene Wenger made a presentation proposing a change to the offside law
Arsene Wenger made a presentation proposing a change to the offside law (Mike Egerton/PA)
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