Football’s rulemakers will NOT give the green light to temporary concussion substitutions

Soccer lawmakers have stood by their decision not to introduce a test for temporary concussion substitutes despite pressure from the Premier League to do so.

At a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in London, FIFA president Gianni Infantino met FA executives to discuss the possibility of testing temporary concussion substitutes.

Clubs in England are currently allowed to make two permanent concussion substitutions under an ongoing trial, which has been extended to allow more data to be collected.

The Premier League has sent a letter to the IFAB arguing in favor of introducing temporary concussion substitutes, with 18 of the 20 clubs in favour.

But the IFAB has chosen not to side with the Premier League, although it insists that the possibility of introducing trials for temporary concussion substitutes will remain under “constant review”.

At a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in London, FIFA president Gianni Infantino met FA executives to discuss testing temporary concussion substitutes.

“We think, and we are convinced based on medical experience and not on feelings and arguments, that this is the best way to protect the health of the players,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.

‘We want to continue these tests, and then we’ll see what the conclusion will be with these tests.

“That’s why we think if there’s a risk or a feeling or a chance that there’s been a concussion or a problem, then it’s better to take the player out and not take any risk.”

“We decided to do this test to protect the health of the players and based on medical experience. It’s not my opinion or anyone else’s.

“The health of the players goes beyond the sporting aspect of maybe putting someone back just because they are a good player. We can not. We don’t want to take any risk, we want to protect the player’s health.

‘Again, it’s a test. So if we see that there are better opportunities or better solutions, we can go in that direction.”

Those in favor of introducing temporary concussion substitutes say it would take the pressure off doctors by allowing them to carry out tests off the field, and then the player would be allowed to return if no problem is deemed to be present.

Clubs in England are currently able to make two permanent concussion substitutions in an ongoing trial, which has been expanded to allow more data to be collected.

They say it could help avoid situations such as Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand initially being allowed to continue after suffering a head injury against England at the World Cup last year, before being substituted and taken to hospital.

The incident also prompted calls for independent club or nation doctors to be involved in the decision-making process, although critics say familiarity with the players is key to making the right decision.

“The biggest part of concussion substitutes when you look at whatever model it is, the vast majority of players, and that’s in the base game, for them the right model is permanent concussion substitutes because there’s not a additional doctor on site”. said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.

“There is a difference of opinion on whether temporary concussion surrogates are the right model for elite, but we had a discussion about that and decided to stay with permanent concussion surrogates and continue to revise that as we get more trial data. . ‘