UEFA announce big rule changes for Champions League and Europa League | OneFootball

UEFA have announced that from next season onwards, clubs participating in the Champions League final, Europa League final and the Super Cup will be allowed to name 23 players in their match-day squads.

The change – which will allow 12 substitutes (instead of seven) to sit on the bench during these finals – is one of a number of adjustments to be made by European football’s governing body which will come into effect in the 2018/19 season.

Additionally, in the knockout stages of the Champions League and Europa League, clubs will henceforth be able to use a fourth substitute during extra time, as has now become commonplace in competitions such as the English FA Cup and League Cup.

Clubs will also soon be allowed to register three new players after the group stages of both the Champions League and the Europa League without any restrictions.

Presently, clubs can register three new players for the knockout stages but only one of them can have played in the group stage of the other competition to which the club is currently in (so a Europa League player can move up to the Champions League, and vice versa) and players who have played in the same competition for another club in the same system are ineligible.

Lifting these restrictions means we will no longer see a situation like that involving Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is unable to play for Arsenal in the Europa League due to the fact his old club – Borussia Dortmund – also entered the competition at the knockout stage.

There are also going to be some changes made to kick-off times. As of next season, Champions League play-offs, group-stage games, round of 16 matches, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will all kick off at 21:00 CET.

But on each group-stage matchday, two Tuesday and two Wednesday matches will kick off at 18:55 CET. Europa League matches from the group stage until round of 16 will kick off at 18:55 and 21:00 CET, while the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will all kick off at 21:00 CET.

UEFA claim these changes will all contribute to European club football’s “evolution” and they are sure to make things interesting, if nothing else.