A meeting of the league’s 20 clubs agreed to pass FIFA law, which was originally drafted as a pandemic emergency measure but has now been made permanent, having rejected it on three previous occasions. The change, which will take effect next season, allows each team to designate a bench with nine substitutes from which five can be selected. Players can be presented with up to three different occasions during the match, as well as at halftime. The vote resolves an internal dispute that has seen smaller clubs clash with larger groups, with the former generally believing the change has benefited the latter. However, after a winter in which most teams were forced to play with teams damaged by Covid and injured, this time there was a sufficient majority to pass the measure. Speaking on Thursday, Graham Potter spoke of additional alternates. Brighton’s manager was opposed to the change when it was first approved, but said the brief experience of using the rule during the Project Restart in 2020 was positive. “I enjoyed it as a coach when we first had it,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. It brings a little more hope and opportunities to everyone on the team. “ The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. In another change confirmed at the shareholders’ meeting, the Premier League is set to abandon mandatory audits twice a week for Covid. From April 4, tests will only be required on players or staff with symptoms. The news comes despite the backdrop of an ongoing Covid-19 wave across the country. The league announced on Monday that in its most recent round of testing, between March 21 and 27, 1,388 players and staff had been tested for Covid and that there were 22 new positive results. The Premier League also announced that the summer transfer window will open on June 10 and close at 23:00 on September 1.
