In the Women’s and Men’s DFB-Pokal (German Cup), teams will be allowed a fourth substitution if the game goes into extra time. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved a proposal from the German FA (Deutscher Fußball-Bund – DFB) to take part in their pilot project, in which they want to trial a fourth substitution in a competition where it’s possible for matches to continue into extra time. All of the teams involved in both competitions agreed with the DFB’s request, and after, the DFB Presidential Board took the appropriate action to implement the pilot project.

How will the new rule be implemented? As soon as a game goes into extra time, the maximum number of permitted substitutions rises from three to four. This new rule will start in this weekend’s round of 16 in the Women’s DFB-Pokal (2nd – 4th December), while it’ll first be implemented in the men’s competition when it returns next February, again for the round of 16. The rule will also be in play for the whole of the 2017/18 season.

”We are pleased that the clubs have seen the sporting advantage of this rule and accepted the change mid-way through the competition. We’re taking the welfare of the players into account, and managers now have another way they can help their players. Taking part in the pilot scheme will allow us to see how the introduction of a fourth substitute could be advantageous in the long term, but it’s also possible that we could see how it could negatively affect the competition,” said DFB Vice President Peter Frymuth.

”I’m pleased that women’s football clubs have also been confronted with this decision. We are ready to test using a fourth substitute for the first time throughout the competition this year,” said Margit Stoppa, organiser of the women’s DFB-Pokal.

(DFB Press Release)