UEFA: five substitutions rule extended to European competitions for 2020-21

Five substitutions per team (instead of three) will be allowed "for all matches played in the Nations League, the European qualifiers play-offs, the Women's Euro qualifiers, the Champions League and the Europa League as from the group stage, and the Women’s Champions League, for the remainder of the (2020-21) season," announced UEFA at the end of its Executive Committee meeting in Budapest (HUN) on 24/09/2020 (on the sidelines of the UEFA Super Cup won by FC Bayern Munich versus Sevilla FC, 2-1 after extra time).

The rule change was made "in order to alleviate the burden on players caused by the condensed 2020/21 international match calendar amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, the number of players permitted on the match sheet will be increased to 23, when this is not already the case," said the European body.

Five substitutes are currently being used during the 2020-21 seasons of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats, Bundesliga, Serie A TIM and LaLiga Santander, but not in the Premier League.

The Executive Committee has also extended the March and September 2021 international windows "so…