The Premier League has once again joined forces with leagues and player unions from around the world to ask football’s lawmakers to trial temporary concussion substitutes.
Requests to implement temporary replacements have been repeatedly turned down by the International Football Association Board (Ifab).
The Premier League’s new motion is supported by 28 other competitions and player bodies.
Players’ union Fifpro, Serie A, France’s Professional Football League, Major League Soccer, Premier Soccer League South Africa, the European Leagues and World Leagues Association are among those to have co-signed the proposal.
The letter says it is in the best interests of player welfare based on available medical and scientific evidence.
It has been sent to Ifab before its annual business meeting in London on Tuesday.
The Premier League has issued a separate letter, supported by the EFL and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), putting itself forward to hold the trial and provide full results.
Permanent concussion substitutes were added to the laws of the game in 2024 after a trial period. Ifab believes this shows zero tolerance to concussion.
A player who is believed to have experienced a concussion must be substituted and cannot go back on to the pitch.
But the Premier League argues permanent substitutions create a greater chance a team will risk leaving a player on the field.
With the temporary substitutes a player would be removed from the field for 10-15 minutes for a full medical assessment. If there is no concussion the player would then be able to return.
BBC
Lucas Bergvall of Tottenham Hotspur is treated by medical staff before he is permanently substituted with concussion