Substitutions

In official competitions the rules may permit up to five substitutions per team in a match. A substituted player cannot return, except in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football where return substitutions are permitted. New for 2026/27: the player coming off must be off the field within ten seconds, and a team that ignores this loses the substitute for around a minute.^4, ^8, ^10, ^11, ^12, ^13, ^19, ²⁴

Key points

✓In official competitions, up to five substitutions per team per match, with the exact number set by competition rules⁴
✓Where a competition permits five in the top division or senior 'A' international football, each team also has a maximum of three substitution opportunities, plus half-time^4, ^5, ⁶
✓Substituted player cannot return unless return substitutions are permitted^8, ^10, ^11, ¹³
✓Substitute enters only during a stoppage, with the referee's permission, after the replaced player has left^15, ^16, ^17, ¹⁸
✓The player coming off must be off the field within ten seconds of the board or the referee's signal^10, ^11, ¹²
✓Exceeding ten seconds: play restarts without the substitute, and the substitution cannot be cancelled or swapped^19, ^21, ^22, ²³

Show the remaining 5 key points

✓The substitute may then enter only at the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed following the restart^19, ²⁴
✓A caution follows only if the player excessively delays the restart beyond the ten seconds^19, ²⁰
✓Exceptions apply where leaving in time is impossible for safety, security or injury reasons^1, ^2, ^3, ^10, ^11, ^12, ¹⁹
✓Senior 'A' international team matches: fifteen substitutes may be named, of which a maximum of eight may be used⁷
✓The two teams may agree on up to eleven being used instead, and the referee must then be informed before the match⁷

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Player dawdles off after the board goes up

Foul

Leading late in the match, a player being substituted walks slowly to the far touchline and is still on the field fifteen seconds after the board was shown.

Correct call: The player still leaves, but the substitute does not come on. Play restarts a player short. The substitution cannot be cancelled or given to a different substitute, and the substitute may only enter at the first stoppage after a minute has passed since the restart.

Common mistake: Treating this as a simple caution for time-wasting. The caution is secondary and only applies if the player excessively delays the restart on top of the ten seconds. The real sanction is playing short.

Law^19, ^20, ^21, ^22, ^23, ²⁴

Scenario 2

Team tries to make a sixth substitution

Foul

A team has already used the maximum substitutions permitted by the competition and tries to make another due to an injury.

Correct call: Not permitted. The team continues with the players on the field.

Common mistake: Allowing an extra substitution out of fairness for injury. There is no injury exception to the permitted number, though some competitions separately allow additional permanent concussion substitutions.

Law^4, ⁹

Scenario 3

Substitute enters before replaced player leaves

Foul

A substitute runs onto the pitch before the player being replaced has fully crossed the touchline.

Correct call: The referee stops the substitute from entering and waits for the replaced player to leave. A substitute who does enter before the referee's signal has entered without permission, which is a caution.

Common mistake: Allowing play to continue because it only lasted a moment, or looking for intent. The Laws make entering without the referee's permission cautionable and set no test of whether it was deliberate.

Law^15, ^17, ^18, ^25, ²⁶

The full rule

In an official competition the number of substitutes, up to a maximum of five, is set by the competition rules, and where a competition permits five in the top division or in senior 'A' international football each team also has a maximum of three substitution opportunities, plus half-time. A player who has been substituted off cannot return to the pitch except where return substitutions are permitted, which the Laws allow only in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football, and the substitute only enters during a stoppage and after a signal from the referee, once the player being replaced has left. For 2026/27 a ten-second time limit was added, aimed squarely at players ambling off to burn clock. The player being substituted must be off the field of play within ten seconds of the substitution board being shown, or of the referee's signal where there is no board, unless leaving within that time is not possible for safety, security or injury reasons. Where several changes are made in the same stoppage, all the players coming off must be gone within ten seconds of the last substitution being indicated. The sanction for exceeding it is unusual and worth understanding properly, because it punishes the team rather than reaching straight for a card. The player must still leave, but they are cautioned only if they excessively delay the restart beyond the ten seconds. The substitute may not yet come on. Play restarts without them. The substitution cannot be cancelled and a different substitute cannot be used instead, so the team is committed to a change it cannot yet make. The substitute may finally enter only with the referee's permission, at the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed following the restart. In practice a team that wastes time on a substitution plays roughly a minute a player short. Separately, senior 'A' international team matches fall under the Laws' 'Other matches' heading rather than the official-competition rules above, and there a maximum of fifteen substitutes may be named of which a maximum of eight may be used. The two teams may agree that more may be used, up to a maximum of eleven, and the referee must then be informed before the match.^4, ^5, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^10, ^11, ^12, ^13, ^14, ^15, ^16, ^17, ^18, ^19, ^20, ^21, ^22, ^23, ²⁴