Football set to allow five substitutions

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Football's lawmakers are this week set to announce a "temporary" change to the laws of the sport allowing teams to make up to five substitutions in games when the sport resumes after the coronavirus-induced suspension.

The proposal to help teams cope with likely fixture congestion in a packed calendar was made by world governing body FIFA and is expected to be validated by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) this Friday.

The IFAB said last week that it was working with FIFA on a "temporary dispensation of Law 3 (The Players) allowing competitions to give teams the option to use a maximum of five substitutes on up to three occasions during the match, plus at half-time."

Limiting the number of occasions on which teams can make changes would remove the incentive to do so purely for time-wasting purposes.

A sixth change may also be permitted in matches that go to extra time.

Currently teams can make three substitutions during games, although since 2018 teams have been allowed to make a fourth substitution in extra time.

Leagues will not be obliged to implement the change, a source said, but they will be free to do so as soon as they restart after almost all football around the world shut down in mid-March because of the pandemic.

The German Bundesliga is set to be the first leading European league to restart later this month.

The IFAB's objective is to "protect players' health" when matches do resume, with a fixture schedule that could be even more packed than usual potentially leading to an "increased risk of injuries".

While the measure is intended to be temporary, it could be maintained for the whole of the 2020-21 season and right through to the next European Championship, which was postponed by a year until June and July 2021 because of the pandemic.

FIFA have said that implementing the measure will be "at the discretion of the organiser of each competition".

"If the measure is still in force, UEFA could then adopt it for the Euro," a source said.

It remains to be seen if the measure could be left in place permanently, but doing so may play into the hands of the wealthiest clubs with the largest squads and greatest strength in depth.

Villa join strugglers fighting neutral venue plan

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Aston Villa became the latest Premier League club threatened by relegation to reject proposals to restart the season behind closed doors at neutral venues on Wednesday.

Villa's chief executive Christian Purslow said the plan would increase the risk of an economic "catastrophe" for his club should they fall out of the lucrative English top-flight.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber also admitted to "self-interest" in objecting to the proposals, while West Ham vice-chairman Karen Brady has claimed "no one wants" to play at neutral sites.

Premier League chiefs believe they will only be given the green light from government to resume at a limited number of venues as it would reduce the strain on essential services and discourage gatherings of supporters near stadiums.

But clubs at risk of relegation argue that the integrity of the competition would be compromised by the neutral-venue plan.

One controversial idea being floated by those at risk at the bottom of the table is to scrap relegation for this season even if matches can restart.

Villa are second bottom, two points from safety, but with a game in hand on fourth-bottom Watford.

"At the bottom end of the table there's a much smaller revenue base, but the risk of relegation is probably a £200 million ($247 million) catastrophe for any club that mathematically could still go down," Purslow told TalkSport.

"We're a club that prides itself on home form. Two-thirds of our wins this season have come at home.

"We've got six home games left to play and I think any Villa fan would agree that giving up that advantage is a massive decision for somebody running Aston Villa and I certainly wouldn't agree to that unless those circumstances are right."

Villa could still be relegated even if no more matches took place should the Premier League choose to use the points-per-game model used by France's Ligue 1.

Lyon have threatened legal action after missing out on a European place and the Premier League is keen to avoid a similar fallout, with the financial stakes even higher in England.

The Premier League is desperate not to lose out on an estimated £762 million ($941 million) of television revenue and broadcasters are not believed to be keen on removing the jeopardy of relegation from the remaining matches.

English Football League chairman Rick Parry warned on Tuesday that "lawyers are going to get wealthy" if the Premier League tried to block promotion from the Championship.

Premier League clubs are set to meet again on Monday in the hope of agreeing a consensus on the protocols for a return to training and eventually matches.

That meeting will take place a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to set out his plans to ease a nationwide lockdown.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday gave the Bundesliga the go-ahead to resume from mid-May behind closed doors.

However, there remains unease at the prospect of players being rushed back into contact sport while the rest of the country is being encouraged to continue social-distancing measures.

A number of Premier League club doctors have reportedly raised a range of concerns, including over their liability and insurance if players catch the virus.

"I'd respect them more if they said 'We accept the increase in health risk but it's one we are willing to take'," said former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on the Premier League's stance.

"They won't as they are frightened to death."

'Impossible to set date' for Serie A return

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Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora warned Wednesday that it was impossible to set a date for a return to Serie A action as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.

"We all hope that the championships can resume regularly, at the same time today it is impossible to set a certain date," Spadafora said during question time in the Italian parliament.

"We must wait for data on the curve of contagions in the next two weeks, since only two days ago the country started the gradual phase of reopening.

"Only then will the government be able to decide."

Italian football has been on hold since March 10 amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed more than 29,000 people in Italy.

Players have been allowed to return to individual training in team sports centres this week but must wait until May 18 at the earliest to be allowed to train as a group.

On Thursday, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) will meet the government's Technical Scientific Committee to discuss the medical protocol for group training.

"We hope the hearing will give the green light for team training sessions, considering also that football does not allow for safety distances or the use of personal protective equipment," continued Spadafora.

The minister said the pressure to resume football was "quite incomprehensible in the eyes of millions of Italians worried about their health and their work".

"The idea of establishing now the date of resumption of the championship contrasts with the need to define the steps based on the trend of the data," he added.

"I remind you that for the moment the only certain dates are for those countries that have decided to block the championships."

France and the Netherlands have ended their seasons but on Wednesday Germany's Bundesliga got the green light to restart behind closed doors from mid-May.

European federations have a deadline of May 25 to inform UEFA if their league will resume, and if so on what date and with what format.

Belgian football season likely over

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The Belgian government announced Wednesday it was suspending all sporting competitions until July 31, effectively putting an end to the country's football season as favoured by most clubs.

The decision was acknowledged by the Pro League, the association of Belgian clubs, which will review the "end of season terms and conditions" during its general assembly scheduled on May 15.

Club Brugge, who were 15 points clear with 11 matches to play, would become Belgian champions if the league is declared over.

"The Pro League takes note of the decision taken today by the National Security Council which plans to cancel professional football competitions until July 31," it said in a statement.

"It goes without saying that the Pro League and its clubs will respect this decision."

The Belgian league recommended the season be declared finished early due to the coronavirus pandemic with the table accepted as final on April 2, becoming the first European league to take such a measure.

The following day UEFA called the decision "premature" and "unjustified" and threatened to deprive Belgian clubs of places in European competitions next season.

The decision must still be formally validated at next week's meeting. The Pro League had delayed a vote on whether to end the season three times although clubs were mostly in favour.

The Belgian government had already banned all mass gatherings until August 31.

It would become the third European country to put an end to the 2019-20 campaign prematurely following similar measures taken in the Netherlands and France.

In contrast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday gave the Bundesliga the green light to resume the season from mid-May behind closed doors.

Dyche says Burnley back 'safe' return of Premier League

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Burnley manager Sean Dyche says his team are willing to finish the Premier League season as long as the return to action can be handled safely.

Premier League chiefs are keen to restart the postponed season in June if the government gives the green light amid the coronavirus crisis.

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and Brighton forward Glenn Murray have expressed concerns about having to play while there is still a risk of contracting the virus.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to outline details of how Britain will exit lockdown on Sunday before the next Premier League meeting to discuss the restart plan takes place a day later.

Dyche hopes it will be clear the Premier League can resume matches safely once those two key events have taken place.

"Firstly, it goes from central Government. Nothing is decided and no dates are decided at this time. I think what the Prime Minister says on Sunday will affect that," Dyche told Clarets Player on Wednesday.

"There's a lot of conjecture on what's going to open and that will then knock on to the Premier League meeting (next week), in which they will take a view from the Government on how we can best move this forward.

"There are lots of ideas and lots of thoughts. We are very pro the idea of moving forward, when we can of course and when it's safe, and the players are clear-minded about that as well.

"They want the season to carry on and finish."

The Premier League are reportedly ready to stage the remaining matches behind closed doors at neutral venues despite protests from a number of clubs.

Aston Villa, Brighton and West Ham have all voiced their objection to losing home advantage in their battle to avoid relegation.

That is not an issue for Dyche, whose side have ambitions at the other end of the table as they sat in 10th, just six points off the European places, when the Premier League was suspended.

"Everyone was of the same thought. Everyone wants to get back training and they want the season to go ahead. They understand the importance and for themselves as well, as individuals," he said.

"I think our players are thirsty to get back to that and to get back playing at some point."

CONCACAF chief eyes World Cup qualifying overhaul

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CONCACAF chief Victor Montagliani said Wednesday the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic would likely force changes to the structure of the region's qualifying competition for the 2022 World Cup.

In an interview with Canada's Onesoccer.com website, Montagliani said he expected CONCACAF's traditional "Hexagonal" final round of qualifying would have to be scrapped under the reforms.

For the 2018 World Cup, six teams played in a home-and-away round-robin group with the top three teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean qualifying directly for the finals in Russia and the fourth place team entering a playoff.

However Montagliani said the global sporting shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic would likely mean the loss of important FIFA international windows ahead of the 2022 World Cup, meaning reforms to the qualifying structure were inevitable.

"I think on the balance of probabilities in terms of what has happened so far, and what likely will continue to happen, the current World Cup format will have to be changed," Montagliani said.

"Which means that ultimately the 'Hex' will have to be changed into some other form."

Montagliani did not provide any details of what a reformed qualifying competition might look like however.

"Obviously it will be bigger, but what that number is I don't know until we have a calendar," he said.

"Until we know from FIFA how many windows we have it's going to be very hard for me to say it's going to be this, that or the other.

"Because even on some of the modelling that my competitions guys are working on in their basements right now, depending on what this calendar looks like, whatever you've thought of you might have to redo that."

Montagliani said however he expected FIFA rankings would be used to help formulate preliminary rounds of qualifying.

"You're going to have to use FIFA rankings to start somewhere because that's the reality of our confederation and in terms of having 35 teams," he said.

"You're going to have to do some kind of elimination process and then get into some kind of group stage process."

Cristiano Ronaldo's greatest ever left-footed goals have been compiled

Cristiano Ronaldo is the ultimate footballing machine.

Say what you like about him in the never-ending debate with Lionel Messi, but there's arguably never been a footballer who ticks as many boxes as the Juventus and Portugal forward.

Ask any of Ronaldo's former teammates and they'll speak in great length about his dedication to the beautiful game, always arriving first to training and working tirelessly on his physique at home.

Not only has that launched him to the status of a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, but it's also ensured that he remains one of the world's best despite being closer to his 40th birthday than his 30th.

It means that Ronaldo is freakishly fast, strong, athletic and supple for his age, regularly outpacing, outmuscling and out-jumping players who are sometimes more than a decade his junior.

The ultimate footballing machine

But aside from his more primordial physical attributes, Ronaldo has also displayed his burgeoning oeuvre of football skills in the many ways he's able to find the back of the net.

At the end of the day, Ronaldo will be remembered most for being one of the greatest goal-scorers of all time and one of the keys to 700+ career goals has been the diversity of his finishing.

We're all aware that Ronaldo has dynamite in his right foot and that his NBA-like jumping makes him lethal in the air, but it's easy to forget that the Portuguese also boasts a mean left foot.

Ronaldo's best left-footed goals

As much as football fans would like to imagine that every professional player earning hundreds-of-thousands a week have trained themselves to be two-footed, that's simply not the case.

Ronaldo isn't exactly on Santi Cazorla's level, granted, but some of the goals he's produced with his weak foot are better than many genuinely left-footed players have managed to score.

Don't believe us? Well, Twitter user @Iam_Ineffable has compiled all the evidence into a superb montage of Ronaldo's greatest weak foot goals to the tune of 4,900 'likes' and 1,300 retweets.

And when you see the sort of goals that fly off Ronaldo's left boot, then you'll understand why, so check out the full compilation below:

CR7(™)@Iam_Ineffable

Cristiano Ronaldo ● Best Left Foot Goals ●

5,006

1:09 PM - May 2, 2020 · Kolkata, India

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Imagine striking a football that well with your weaker leg. Crazy.

It's stunning how Ronaldo manages to beat world-class goalkeepers from such long range when he's shooting with a disadvantage that would make most players fire a daisy-cutter wide of the post.

Plus, we just love his Champions League goals against Galatasaray and Schalke where he baffles the defender with step-overs before thrashing the ball home with his left peg.

In terms of the aforementioned Messi debate, it's certainly an area in which Ronaldo has an advantage and we'd imagine that's especially the case if you were asking Pele. 

The legendary Brazilian once said of Messi and himself: "How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn't head the ball well?"

Now that, we dare say, isn't an accusation you could lodge against Ronaldo.