Which protocol?
Every question in this scenario
The Protocols investigation scenario asks 7 questions and can reach 23 decisions. A walk answers only the ones its own answers lead to. This is the whole set, for reference and for revision.
1Which protocol?
All three sit outside the Laws they belong to, which is why they are easy to miss.
Answers: A player being substituted took too long to leave · An injured player, and the minute off the field · A concussion substitution · What a national association may modify · Who may approach the referee · A rule not in the Laws, or a Law that reads differently
2What is in question?
This protocol relates to the Law 3 requirement for a substituted player to leave the field within ten seconds, to prevent time-wasting and disruption to the tempo of the match.
Answers: What is required, and when the ten seconds start · The player did not leave in time · When the referee need not apply it
3What is in question?
The purpose is to give the medical staff time off the field to evaluate the injury and decide whether the player continues.
Answers: When a player has to leave for a minute · Assessment and treatment on the field · The minute itself, and coming back · The half ended before the minute did · When the player does not have to leave at all · Treated on the field after a foul that was carded
4What is in question?
Two protocols were trialled and one was approved. It must be used in its entirety.
Answers: How many, and who can be one · When it may be made · What happens to the player · What the opposing team gets · How it affects substitution opportunities · The match officials' role in it
5At which level?
How the game is played and refereed should be the same on every football field in the world.
Answers: At all levels of the game · Youth, veterans, disability and grassroots only
6What is in question?
They are guidelines a competition chooses to apply until 1 July 2027, when they become a compulsory protocol.
Answers: Who may approach the referee, and what happens to others · The captain is the goalkeeper · The 4 m captain-only zone · Whether any of this applies to this competition
7Where did the difference come from?
A rule that is genuinely different has to come from one of a small number of places.
Answers: It is being trialled, or the competition brought it in · It is a permitted modification for a level of football · The wording differs between translations, or the units
Every decision it can reach
Each one is where a walk ends, with the reasoning it prints. The clause behind a decision is cited on the decision itself, which you reach by walking to it.
Ten seconds from the board, at the nearest point on the boundary line
Once the substitution board has been shown, or the referee signals for a substitution where there is no board, the player being substituted must leave within ten seconds and at the nearest point on the boundary line unless the referee indicates otherwise. If the referee inspects the substitute's equipment at the halfway line, the ten seconds start when the inspection is completed and the referee signals. The referee may visually count down the last five seconds with a raised hand, optionally with a verbal countdown. Where more than one substitution is made in a stoppage, all the players being substituted must be off within ten seconds of the substitution being indicated.
The substitute waits a minute, and only an excessive delay is a card
If the player has not left within the ten seconds they must still leave as quickly as possible, the substitute is not permitted to enter, play restarts, the substitution cannot be cancelled nor the substitute changed, and the substitute may only enter at the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed following the restart and after a signal from the referee. The one minute is timed on a running clock and determined by the referee, who may be assisted by the other match officials. Where the ten seconds are exceeded and the substitute is prevented from entering, the player being substituted is only cautioned if the delay was excessive.
Injury, safety, or a player already on their way
The referee may decide not to apply the ten-second time limit, including where a player's injury clearly prevents them leaving within that time, or where a player cannot leave at the nearest point on the boundary line for safety or security reasons. And because the purpose of the countdown is to maintain the tempo of the match by preventing time-wasting, a player who is very close to or crossing the boundary line as the referee reaches the end of the countdown should be allowed to complete the substitution.
Any one of three things triggers it
An outfield player is required to leave the field for one minute after the restart where any one of the following happens: play is stopped because the player has an actual or suspected injury, the referee has signalled for the medical staff to enter the field, or the referee has asked the player whether they require on-field medical attention and the player has requested it. One of the three is enough, and the third is the one worth knowing: asking for the physio is itself the trigger.
Assessment on the field, treatment off it
The medical staff should be given sufficient time to carry out an initial assessment on the field but should not treat the player on the field unless Law 5 permits it, and Law 5 permits treatment on the field only in the circumstances it names. After any initial assessment the player must leave the field and remain off it until play has restarted and one minute has elapsed. Assessment and treatment are two different things and the protocol separates them: looking at an injury is allowed where working on it is not.
One minute from the restart, back only with permission
The one-minute period off the field begins when play restarts, not when the player leaves, and is timed using a running clock determined by the referee, who may be assisted by the other match officials. The player may only return with the referee's permission, and must re-enter from the touchline if the ball is in play, though from any boundary line if it is not. If the injured player is substituted instead, the substitution is not delayed.
The player returns at the start of the next period
If the first half ends before the one minute has elapsed, the player may return as from the beginning of the second half, and the same principle applies to the period between the end of normal time and the start of extra time, to half-time in extra time, and to the period between the end of extra time and penalties. So an interval discharges the remainder rather than pausing it, which is the opposite of how a temporary dismissal carries over.
Two ways out, and the second is Law 5's own list
A player is not required to leave the field for one minute in either of two cases. The first is about the player: they indicate that they do not require medical attention, except where play was stopped for the injury, or they voluntarily leave the field during play or a stoppage without delaying the restart. The second is that the injury is one Law 5 permits to be treated on the field, and the protocol prints that list: a goalkeeper is injured, a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need attention, players from the same team have collided and need attention, a severe injury has occurred, especially a head injury such as concussion, a cardiac issue or a life-threatening event such as a seizure or choking, a player is injured as the result of a physical offence for which the opponent is cautioned or sent off, or a penalty kick has been awarded and the injured player will be the kicker.
Treated quickly, and stays on
This is the one case the guidelines work through in their own section, and they state the reasoning rather than only the rule. Two unfair situations pull against each other: making a player who was fouled leave hands the offending team a numerical advantage at the restart, and the requirement exists at all because players used injuries to delay restarts for tactical reasons. The IFAB balanced them by allowing this only for a physical offence where the opponent is cautioned or sent off, and there the injured player can be quickly assessed or treated and then remain. In principle the delay should be no longer than a medical assessment on the field already takes: what changed is that the point where the medical staff used to have to take the player off is now the point where the staff leave and the player stays. To stop the concession being used as the delay it was meant to prevent, referees are advised to be aware of the match situation and any tactical reason to delay, to tell the injured player that any treatment must be quick, and to signal for the medical person or persons rather than the stretchers, reminding them to be quick. When the referee decides play should restart it is one of two things: the medical staff leave and the player remains, or the player leaves for further assessment or treatment. The general guide is that the restart should not be delayed more than about 20 to 25 seconds beyond the point when everyone was ready, except for a serious injury or the assessment of a head injury, and the referee must make full allowance for the stoppage.
One each, regardless of how many substitutes are already used
Each team is permitted to use a maximum of one concussion substitute in a match, and it may be made regardless of the number of substitutes already used. In competitions where the number of named substitutes is the same as the maximum number of normal substitutes that can be used, the concussion substitute can be a player who has previously been substituted, which is the one place outside youth and grassroots football that a substituted player may return.
At any point a concussion occurs or is suspected
A concussion substitution may be made immediately after a concussion occurs or is suspected, after an on-field or off-field assessment, or at any other time when a concussion occurs or is suspected, including when a player has previously been assessed and has returned to the field of play. That last limb is the important one: a player cleared earlier in the match can still be taken off as a concussion substitution later. If a team decides to make one, the referee or fourth official is informed, ideally using a substitution card or form of a different colour.
No further part, including the shoot-out
The player with concussion or suspected concussion is not permitted to take any further part in the match, including penalties, and should where possible be accompanied to the dressing room. Permanent is in the name of the protocol for this reason, and it is what separates a concussion substitution from an assessment: once it is made there is no route back.
An additional substitute for any reason
When a concussion substitute is used, the opposing team then has the option to use an additional substitute for any reason. The referee or fourth official informs them that they have that option and an additional substitution opportunity with it, which may be used concurrently. For any reason is the whole of the condition: the opposing team does not need an injury of its own.
Separate from the normal count, unless made at the same time
Making a concussion substitution is separate from any limit on the number of normal substitution opportunities. However, if a team makes a normal substitution at the same time as a concussion substitution, that counts as one of its normal opportunities. Once a team has used all its normal opportunities it cannot use a concussion substitution to make a normal one. The opposing team's additional opportunity can be used only for its additional substitute. The substitution procedure otherwise operates in accordance with Law 3.
Not their decision, and they must report a misuse
The referee and other match officials, especially the fourth official, are not part of a team's decision-making as to whether a player should be substituted, nor whether by a normal or a concussion substitute, and must not decide whether an injury qualifies for a concussion substitute. They should give appropriate support, including telling the captain, coach or medical staff if they suspect a player needs assessing, and should support a decision that an injured player cannot continue, which may require delaying the restart until the player has left. And they must inform the appropriate authorities if there are concerns that a concussion substitution has been made inappropriately.
Three things, at any level
For all levels of the game a national association, confederation or FIFA may modify the number of substitutes each team may use in official competitions up to a maximum of five, except in youth football where a different maximum applies, the use of additional permanent concussion substitutions applying The IFAB's protocol, and the implementation of the 'Only the captain' guidelines, which become compulsory for all competitions starting on or after 1 July 2027. Law 3 carries the conditions that apply in extra time and the restriction on substitution opportunities.
Eight things, and the associations decide who counts
For youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football the modifiable areas are the size of the field, the size, weight and material of the ball, the width between the goalposts and the height of the crossbar, the duration of the two equal halves and of extra time, the number of players, the use of return substitutes, the use of temporary dismissals for some or all cautions, and specific requirements for the captain's compulsory armband. National associations, confederations and FIFA decide the age restrictions for youth and veterans football, and each national association determines which competitions at the lowest levels are designated grassroots, so the categories themselves are theirs to draw.
One player from each team, and dissent is a caution whoever shows it
Normal interactions between players and the referee are allowed and remain important, so this is not a rule against speaking to the referee. What it stops is mobbing: in major situations and after key incidents or decisions, only one player from each team, usually the captain, may approach the referee, and must do so respectfully. The referee may instruct or encourage players not to approach, the captains are responsible for helping direct their team-mates away, and players who approach or surround the referee when they are not permitted to may be cautioned. Any player, the captain included, who shows dissent by word or action will be cautioned. The referee may delay the restart to give a captain time to speak to their team-mates, and may allow an approach by another player at their discretion, for example a player who committed the offence, was fouled or is injured. The traffic runs both ways, which is the half most often left out: the referee will, where appropriate, explain important decisions to the captains or to the players involved in an incident.
Nominate an outfield player at the coin toss, and only one of them may go
Where the goalkeeper is the captain, the referee must be told no later than at the coin toss before kick-off which player is nominated to approach the referee instead. Only the goalkeeper or the nominated player may approach, not both. If the nominated player is substituted or sent off, another player must be nominated.
Youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football only
The 4 m zone is an option printed for those levels and for no others, so it is not part of the guidelines a professional competition adopts. Where it is in use the referee initiates it by blowing the whistle and signalling, raising both arms above the head and crossing them at the wrists, then uncrossing them and pushing the palms forward to indicate that players must not approach. A captain-only zone then extends for 4 m (4.5 yds) around the referee, who may move away from the players to create it. No player may enter it except each team's captain, who should wear an identifying armband, and the captain has a degree of responsibility for keeping team-mates 4 m away. If one player other than the captain enters, the offender should be cautioned for dissent by action. If more than one player from a team enters, at least one must be cautioned, usually the first unauthorised player in or the one whose approach is most aggressive, and any such incident must be reported to the appropriate authorities after the match. The two modals are printed as written and they differ: should for the single offender, must for the case where a team sends several.
Guidelines a competition may apply, compulsory from 1 July 2027
These are guidelines written to assist competition organisers who wish to apply the 'only the captain' principles, and they become a compulsory protocol for all competitions starting on or after 1 July 2027. Under Law 3 itself the captain has no special status or privileges, only a degree of responsibility for the behaviour of the team, so where a competition has not adopted the guidelines there is no rule reserving the referee for the captain. What the captain does carry everywhere is stated separately in the notes: players have a major responsibility for the image of the game, and the team captain should play an important role in helping to ensure that the Laws and referees' decisions are respected. That is a responsibility rather than a privilege, which is the distinction the guidelines are built on. The reason given for them is that match officials are regularly subjected to verbal and physical dissent, and that players sometimes run at and surround the referee, which is intimidating and harms the image of the game.
A trial needs The IFAB's permission, and it is not the Law anywhere else
The Laws make room for trials, because a potential Law change sometimes needs to be tested to evaluate the expected and unexpected impacts it may have on the game. What that room is not is open: confederations, national associations and competition organisers must have permission from The IFAB to take part in any such trial. And the Laws name what is being trialled in this edition, which is what makes the absence of anything else from that list meaningful: in 2026/27 The IFAB will mainly focus on trials related to delays caused by goalkeeper injuries and on continuing to explore alternative offside concepts. So a provision applied at one tournament and nowhere else is a provision that competition is running, and a referee at a match not running it has no power to apply it.
English governs the words, metric governs the numbers
The Laws answer both versions of this in one line each. The IFAB publishes the Laws of the Game in English, French, German and Spanish, and if there is any divergence in the wording, the English text is authoritative. And if there is any divergence between metric and imperial units, the metric units are authoritative. That second one is not hypothetical: 10 yds is 9.14 m and the Laws require 9.15 m, and 8 yds is not exactly 7.32 m either, so every distance in this document is the metric figure with an imperial approximation printed beside it.