Premier League leads call for temporary concussion subs

The Premier League has once more teamed up with international leagues and player unions to request that temporary concussion substitutes be tried by law enforcement.

The International Football Association Board (Ifab) has turned down requests to implement temporary replacements on numerous occasions.

28 other competitions and player bodies concur with the Premier League’s new motion.

Major League Soccer, Premier Soccer League South Africa, the European Leagues, Serie A, France’s Professional Football League, and the European Leagues and World Leagues Association are just a few of the players who have co-signed the proposal.

According to the letter, based on available medical and scientific evidence, it is in the player’s best interests to pursue this position.

Before Tuesday’s Ifab’s annual business meeting in London, it has been sent to Ifab.

The Premier League has requested that the trial be held and results fully disclosed in a separate letter from the EFL and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).

Following a trial period, permanent concussion substitutes were added to the game’s laws in 2024. Ifab thinks this demonstrates zero concussion tolerance.

A player who is alleged to have had a concussion must be substituted and is prohibited from returning to the field.

However, the Premier League contends that making permanent substitutions increases the risk of a team leaving a player on the field.

Temporary replacements are said to significantly improve the management of concussions right away and give medical teams enough time to evaluate players.

The Premier League will meet with Ifab to discuss the situation, as will Fifa and the international board.

Ifab hopes to advance the concept to its 28-february annual general meeting in Cardiff, where trials might be able to receive final approval.

Many leagues and unions have consistently opposed them despite Ifab’s claim that permanent substitutions are the safest approach.

When Ifab’s trials began in 2021, Fifpro and the PFA first raised objections to them.

The PFA urged temporary substitutes to be used in 2022 to allow medical personnel to conduct more thorough and in-depth examinations of potentially injured players away from the field of play.

At Ifab’s AGM in March 2023, a group of leagues submitted a joint application. The Premier League claimed that it was “disappointed” and that “all available scientific evidence” was being disregarded.

Fifpro reiterated its position on temporary substitutes a few months after being rejected, citing British Journal of Sports Medicine research that suggested that concussions on athletes should take at least 10-15 minutes to be evaluated.

Recent research from the Premier League indicates that between 27% and 53% of concussion victims are not replaced right away in the letter to Ifab.

Temporary substitutes have significantly decreased the number of players returning to play who have been later found to have a concussion in other sports.

Rugby Union saw a decrease of 58% to 8%, while NFL players only saw a decrease in the percentage of players returning to the field.

The Premier League will inform Ifab that temporary replacement trials must be rejected with a detailed justification.

To prevent teams from relying on substitutions to gain a competitive advantage, a regulatory framework has been created.

An oversight body would review all incidents’ video to determine whether they were true, while the opposition team would receive an additional substitute.