Premier League clubs agree to five substitutions for rest of season

New rules approved on Thursday also mean the teams will also be able to name nine substitutes instead of the usual seven

Premier League clubs will be able to make five substitutions, instead of the usual three, once the season restarts. PA

Premier League teams will be able to make five substitutions, rather than three, in each match for the rest of the season, once it restarts after the coronavirus lockdown.

Clubs approved new rules on Thursday that will also mean the teams will be able to name nine substitutes instead of the usual seven.

While teams can make five substitutions, they will still only have three opportunities to make changes throughout the match, in a bid to restrict disruptions to matches.

Fifa proposed the substitutions rule change to Ifab, which is responsible for the laws of the game, as players are likely to be asked to play matches in a condensed period of time during the summer months.

It was also agreed in principle that neutral venues could be used for certain games, although the aim is to play a vast majority of matches at the usual home grounds.

Police forces across England are expected to look over the final fixture list and could recommend certain games in London to be moved to neutral venues.

Five matches have already been requested by local forces to be moved to neutral stadiums, although none were in the English capital, despite the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, expressing concerns about staging games there during the pandemic.

Tottenham Hotspur’s match against north London rivals Arsenal is one of the games still to be played, as is Spurs against West Ham United, who also have a home game against Chelsea at the London Stadium.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police read: “The MPS have been in regular contact with the NPCC football lead DCC Mark Roberts who is co-ordinating the policing response to the restart of any football matches across the UK.

“Whilst agreement has been reached as to when the season may recommence, the plans for this to happen are still being finalised.

“We remain in contact with all the relevant bodies and will make plans as necessary when we receive a final proposed schedule for games.”

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Gallery from last round of Premier League games

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It is understood that Liverpool City Council’s safety advisory group is due to meet early next week.

Everton are hoping it will allow them to stage the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on the weekend of June 19-22.

The Premier League is due to restart again on June 17 after a three -month absence.

The opening matches will be Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal.

Those two games will take all teams to 29 matches played. The remaining 90 games will then continue from the following weekend of June 19-21.

All matches will take place behind closed doors and will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport or Amazon Prime.