The Qatar World Cup kicked off on Sunday and with it, a brand new FIFA rule has been introduced.
The first ten minutes of England’s opener versus Iran was marred with controversy after centre-back Majid Hosseini and goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand collided heads in the box.
Beiranvand, who appeared visibly distressed and received extensive treatment, carried on playing for a few minutes before being forced off on a stretcher with a potential concussion.
Substitute Hossein Hosseini ultimately came on in his place, to become the first concussion substitute in World Cup history.
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But what are the rules around concussion substitutes?
Concussion substitutes
Each team will be permitted to use one concussion substitute per match.
The law states that if a concussion is suspected a player must be removed for assessment and treatment without it affecting the five regular substitutions teams can make.
To help determine whether a change should be classified as a ‘concussion substitute’ medical staff will be at each game to review video footage and check if the injury is likely to have led to a concussion.
In turn, each country can put the health of their players first without having to impact their five permitted substitutions.
Moreover, if a side were to use a concussion substitute, the opposing team will also be allowed an extra change to avoid any extra advantage.
Topics: Football, England, Football World Cup, Qatar
Chris Byfield