Players and substitutions

Number of players and substitutions

Each team plays with a maximum of eleven players, one of them the goalkeeper. A match may not start or continue if a team has fewer than seven. The number of substitutions depends on each competition: many top-level competitions allow up to five changes in a maximum of three stoppages, plus half-time.

The procedure

• The change is made with play stopped and with the referee's permission.
• The player being replaced leaves at the nearest point on the boundary line, unless the referee indicates otherwise for safety or injury reasons.
• The substitute enters at the halfway line and only after the player being replaced has left.
• The substitution is complete when the substitute enters the field: from that moment they are a player.

Changing the goalkeeper

Any player may change places with the goalkeeper if the referee is told beforehand and the change is made with play stopped. If they swap during play without telling the referee, play continues and both are cautioned at the next stoppage.

Entering without permission

A substitute, substituted player or player who had left the field who enters without permission is cautioned. If they also interfere with play, the referee stops the match and restarts it with a direct free kick where the interference happened.

A goal with an extra person on the field

If after a goal, and before play restarts, the referee realises there was an extra person on the field when it was scored:

• If they belonged to the team that scored (a substitute, a substituted or sent-off player, or a team official), the goal is disallowed.
• If it was an outside agent, the goal is disallowed only if they interfered with play.
• If they belonged to the team that conceded, the goal stands.