To kick off their Premier League season for 2024/25, newly promoted Leicester City played host to Tottenham Hotspur. In the end, a goal in each half was enough to see things end all square at 1-1, but there was something unusual about the game.
No, it wasn’t Jamie Vardy winding up the away support with his cheeky trolling – that’s nothing new. But rather, that Spurs used six substitutions in the game.
Since the 2022/2023 season, Premier League clubs decided that on matchday, clubs will be permitted to use five substitutes. However, there is a way for teams to make as many as seven in a game.
Why Spurs Made 6 Subs vs Leicester
Rodrigo Bentancur had a concussion
The match looked to be heading towards all three points for Tottenham with Pedro Porro heading in the opening goal just shy of the half-an-hour mark. And while Ange Postecoglou’s men would largely dominate – with over twice as many shots (15 to seven) and 71 per cent possession – the Foxes just about hung in there to grab a point.
The aforementioned Vardy struck with 57 minutes played and despite having chances to go on and win it from there, the game ultimately ended as a 1-1 draw.
An injury in the latter stages of the game may explain why Spurs were unable to go on and steal a winner. With 12 minutes to play, Rodrigo Bentancur with Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu. It was a nasty-looking aerial collision and having suffered a blow to the head, the midfielder left the pitch on a stretcher.
At this point, Postecoglou opted to make four substitutes and he then made a further two changes in the 92nd minute. This meant the Australian manager had made a total of six across the game, one more than usually permitted.
However, due to Premier League rules, as Bentancur went off with a concussion, this allowed Spurs to make a change without using one of their allotted five subs.
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Mohamed Salah has been hailed by a former Premier League referee for questioning Liverpool’s sixth substitution against Southampton.
Liverpool Also Used 6 Subs Despite Southampton Star Being Injured
Mohamed Salah was baffled by the rule
Later on in the 2024/25 season, Liverpool hosted Southampton and picked up a 3-1 win at Anfield. During this game, the Reds also made six substitutions and with the title race on the line, star winger Mohamed Salah was afraid that the club could be docked points for doing so. One journalist noted:
Mohamed Salah has just been desperately trying to stop Liverpool making a sixth substitution there so they don’t get docked points. Looked like the referee had to explain to him they get an extra one due to the earlier head injury.
Indeed, before the 20-minute mark of the match, Southampton defender Jan Bednarek was forced from the pitch due to a head injury and replaced by Armel Bella-Kotchap. In line with the Premier League’s concussion protocols, this entitled both teams to an extra change rather than the five they are usually allotted.
Premier League Concussion Rule Explained
Can make as many as two extra subs
In February 2021, Premier League clubs agreed to introduce the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) trial of additional permanent concussion substitutions (APCS).
Explaining why the rule was needed, the head of the PFA’s dedicated Brain Health department, Dr Adam White said:
“Put simply, the current laws of the game are jeopardising player health and safety.
“Permanent substitutions do not allow medical teams to assess a player with a potentially serious brain injury in an appropriate environment. The rules, as they are, create an extremely challenging situation and offer no support to medical personnel.”
The rules are pretty simple and explained on the official Premier League website as such: “If the referee stops a match for a potential concussion injury to a player, the medical staff of that player’s team will enter the field of play to make an assessment while the tunnel doctor will review video footage of the incident.
“The team doctor will have as much time as is required to make an on-pitch clinical assessment of the player.
If there are clear symptoms of concussion, or the video provides clear evidence of concussion, the team will be permitted to apply to replace the player with an additional permanent concussion substitution.”
As with every substitute, the player brought off due to concussion will not be allowed to return to the field of play. In total, each team is permitted to use a maximum of two concussion substitutions per match.
If a third player suffers a concussion, they will just have to come off as a normal substitute, or if all subs have been used up, they will have to exit the pitch, leaving their team down a player.