What is the World Cup concussion protocol? One additional substitution will be allowed in Qatar
The 2022 World Cup starts tomorrow and a brand new rule has been introduced for the tournament in Qatar.
FIFA has introduced a new concussion protocol ahead of this year’s World Cup, with teams now allowed to make an additional substitution.
If a player has suffered or is suspected of having suffered a concussion, teams will now be able to make only one permanent concussion substitution.
To help make these decisions, medical staff will be present at every game to review video footage to check if the injury is likely to have resulted in a concussion.
This allows each country to prioritize the health of their players without having to affect their five allowed substitutions.
To prevent an extra advantage being given to the team that uses a concussion sub, the opposing team will also be entitled to an extra substitution.
The protocol has already been added permanently to the Premier League and EFL after a successful trial period in 2021.
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This is the first time the rule has been used at a World Cup and the decision came after controversy at the 2014 tournament.
Christoph Kramer suffered a horrific head injury in the final between Germany and Argentina eight years ago.
Kramer was cleared to continue but around 15 minutes later fell to the ground and was substituted. It would turn out that he suffered from a slight head trauma.
With the introduction of the new FIFA protocol, incidents like this should be avoided in Qatar this winter.
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