With the corona pandemic set to that of most football leagues' game schedule, Ifab, who is responsible for the rules in football, gave the opportunity for the different leagues to temporarily introduce five changes per match instead of the usual number of three.
On Thursday the message came that it will be implemented in Swedish elite football this season, but if IFK Norrköping's coach Jens Gustafsson is allowed to decide, something will be the case.
- We at IFK Norrköping have advocated this. It had given the opportunity to continue giving match minutes to players who are on their way into their careers. I hope it will prove that we are right in this and that we will continue with this, he says.
"Can change the match picture earlier"One reason why he wants to see the change permanently is that as a coach you can change the match picture more, but the biggest reason is that more players get playing time.
- You can change the match picture earlier than when you have three changes. For football, I think it will generate more young players being able to come in and play competition games at an earlier stage than is possible with three exchanges. That makes me think it's very good for Swedish football to have it this way, says Gustafsson.
"Don't see anything negative at all"Former Fifa judge Jonas Eriksson also hopes to stick to the now temporary rule change.
- I do not see anything negative at all that, even permanently in the future, five permits would be allowed on three separate occasions. It benefits the game in a positive way, the coaches get more gear to use and besides, it will not ruin the rhythm of the game more than it does today, he tells SVT Sport.
It is Ifab and Fifa (International Football Association) who decide whether to change from three to five changes. In 1995 it went up from two to three.
- I do not know how Ifab discusses and Swedish football adheres to the rules Ifab proposes. There are no ongoing discussions about having five substitutes in 2021, says Peter Ekström, chairman of the Swedish Football Association's referees committee.
Nannskog: So all Swedes will be without a public
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Nannskog: So all Swedes become public without photo: Photo Agency