By Tara Rippin • Published: 05 May 2021 • 16:44
CREDIT: Twitter
UEFA allows 26-player squads for Euro 2020.
SPECIAL rules for the Euro 2020 final tournament have been approved by the UEFA Executive Committee in order to “guarantee the smooth running and continuity of the competition in light of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Key changes include increasing the player list from 23 to 26 players.
“To mitigate the risks of teams facing a shortage of available players for certain matches due to possible positive Covid-19 tests results and subsequent quarantine measures ordered by competent authorities, it has been decided to exceptionally increase the player list for all participating teams to 26 players,” said the Union of European Football Associations in a statement.
The governing body of European football added, however, that 23 players shall remain the maximum number permitted on the match sheet for each individual match.
“This is in accordance with Law 3 of the IFAB Laws of the Game permitting a maximum of 12 substitutes to be named for A-national team matches, including three goalkeepers,” the association explained.
Once the player list has been submitted on June 1, 2021, the current regulations allow unlimited replacements on the player list in case of serious injury or illness before the first match, provided that the replacements are medically certified.
“For the sake of clarity, players who have tested positive for Covid or who have been declared as “close contacts” of a positive tested person – and therefore put in isolation – by way of an authorities’ decision are considered cases of serious illness and can therefore be replaced before the first match with the approval of the UEFA administration.”
The new regulations will now also allow goalkeepers to be replaced before each match during the tournament in case of physical incapacity even if one or two goalkeepers from the player list are still available
To ensure the integrity of the competition, a player who has been replaced on the player list cannot be readmitted to the list.
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Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region. She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990. Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. She loves being part of a community that has a wonderful expat and Spanish mix, and strives to bring the latest and most relevant news to EWN’s loyal and valued readers.
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