Teams competing in the Champions League and Europa League will be permitted to make a fourth substitution during extra time next season, UEFA announced Thursday.
The additional substitute is among a number of rule amendments that will take effect immediately. The changes also apply to other competitions, such as the 2020 European Championship.
A similar rule was approved earlier this year by FIFA and has been implemented at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Former Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata became the sport’s first player to be used as a fourth substitute when he replaced Cristiano Ronaldo during extra time of the 2016 Club World Cup.
Competing teams will be allowed to list 12 possible substitutes to select from in the finals of both the Champions League and Europa League, in order to give coaches more flexibility.
The squads for all other games will remain at 18 players, while an additional five players will be available for selection during the final of each respective competition.
In another rule change, coaching staffs are now permitted to use handheld electronic devices – such as phones, tablets, and laptops – in the technical area.
Liverpool announced Monday that Mohamed Salah has signed a new long-term contract. It will reportedly keep the Egyptian star at Anfield for the next five years.
There was plenty of interest, specifically from Real Madrid, in luring Salah away from the Merseyside club after his historic debut season.
But Liverpool has temporarily quelled speculation over his future by getting the 26-year-old to put pen to paper on a contract that lasts until 2023, according to The Guardian’s Andy Hunter.
@LFC pic.twitter.com/GsNxSQtD0V
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) July 2, 2018
It’s believed that negotiations over an improved contract kicked off in the weeks before the Premier League season ended with Liverpool securing a top-four finish. The Reds went on to feature in the Champions League final but lost to Real Madrid in a match that Salah was forced to leave early because of a shoulder injury.
Although financial details were not disclosed by the club, Salah reportedly had his pay doubled to £200,000 per week. The new deal is not believed to include a release clause.
Manager Jurgen Klopp believes that Salah’s commitment to Liverpool is an indication of the club’s growth and ability to retain its stars following the high-profile departures of world-class players such as Luis Suarez and, most recently, Philippe Coutinho.
“It demonstrates two things very clearly also: his belief in Liverpool and our belief in him,” Klopp told the team’s website.
“We want world-class talent to see they have a home at Anfield where they can fulfill all their professional dreams and ambitions – we are working hard together to achieve this.
“When someone like Mo Salah commits and says this place is my home now, it speaks very loudly I think.
“Equally, our commitment to him says we see his value and want him to grow even more and get even better within our environment.”
After he was labelled a flop during a brief spell at Chelsea, Salah went on to find success at Fiorentina and Roma before Liverpool signed him last summer.
An initial fee of €42 million ended up being one of the bargains of the century, as Salah went on to break the Premier League single-season scoring record by finding the back of the net 32 times.
Along with winning the PFA Player of the Year award, Salah could very well be the player to end Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or duopoly when the game’s most coveted individual honour is awarded later this year.
AC Milan’s nightmare has officially become reality.
UEFA’s adjudicatory arm barred the Rossoneri from European competition for one of the next two seasons, citing violations of the governing body’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
Although the ban will be active for the next two years, Milan will only be ordered to sit out one of the 2018-19 or 2019-20 campaigns.
The Italian side will appeal the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying in a statement that it “fully trusts the CAS will hear its arguments.” If the appeal is unsuccessful, Milan, a seven-time European champion, will be kicked out of next season’s Europa League. It qualified for the competition as the sixth-placed finisher in Serie A.
“The club is excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next two seasons (i.e. one competition in 2018/19 or 2019/20, subject to qualification,” UEFA said in a statement.
The Investigatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) said Milan, which accrued more than €200 million in aggregate losses between 2014 and 2017, fell short of break-even compliance.
UEFA previously denied the club both a voluntary agreement and settlement agreement because of ongoing uncertainties relating to Li’s finances. Li only completed the €740-million takeover last summer thanks to a €303-million high-interest loan from U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management.
Previously unknown in China, Li has struggled to repay Elliott on time. Elliott can assume control of Milan if Li fails to pay back the remainder by October 2018.
UEFA’s ruling comes as Li continues to negotiate with potential buyers. U.S. media mogul Rocco Commisso and the family of Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts are reportedly interested in acquiring a majority stake.
London – Ryan Giggs hailed Gareth Bale as the greatest Welsh player he has seen after the Real Madrid star inspired his club’s Champions League final victory over Liverpool.
Bale came off the bench to score twice in the second half of Real’s 3-1 win in Kiev on Saturday.
The Wales forward bagged his first with an overhead kick already being ranked as the greatest goal ever scored in a Champions League final.
That put Madrid 2-1 up and Bale wrapped up his club’s third successive Champions League title when his powerful long-range effort was spilled into the net by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius.
The 28-year-old now has four Champions League winners’ medal from five seasons in Spain, equalling the British record of former Liverpool defender Phil Neal.
Wales manager Giggs had been regarded as the finest product of his country, but the former Manchester United winger says that honour arguably belongs to Bale now.
“He’s the greatest Welsh player I’ve seen,” Giggs said.
“Obviously I didn’t see John Charles play and many others around that time.
“But great players turn up at the right moments and make the difference, and he’s done it twice now in Champions League finals.
“And to win four, to go to Real Madrid, and be so successful, he’s got to be the best.”
Former Tottenham star Bale said after the final that he would have to consider his future with Real after spending much of the season on the bench.
But Giggs said: “I’ve always maintained he looks happy at Real Madrid.
“It’s a great club and a successful one. It’s Gareth’s choice.
“He’s made the difference in a Champions League final — whether that has any bearing, I don’t know.”
