Serie A is set to allow the teams to make five substitutions per game once the 2019-20 season of the competition resumes on June 20 after the temporary rule change was approved by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Friday.
The FIGC said in an official statement that its decision-making council had agreed “to allow a maximum number of five substitutions to be made for each team in the scheduled competitions up to the end of the 2019/2020 season.”
The new change in rule was proposed by FIFA and approved by the International Football Association Board (IAFB) in May to help the teams in coping with likely fixture congestion in what will be a packed schedule after football returns.
Meanwhile, the Italian football season is all set to start on June 12 – eight days ahead of Serie A – with the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, announced the country’s Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora on Thursday.
Earlier, all the 20 top-flight clubs had voted that the final of the Coppa Italia would be played on June 17. Lega Serie A had also confirmed that the decision was taken after receiving a green light from the Italian government.
The first leg of the semi-finals had concluded in February as AC Milan played out a 1-1 draw with Juventus at San Siro while Napoli enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan. But the return legs which were originally set in early March were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Italian Sports Minister had earlier announced in the last week of May that the 2019-20 season of Serie A would resume on June 20 after a suspension of more than three months due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy has been one of the worst-hit countries by the virus.