Luis Enrique challenges new substitution rule after PSG are reduced to nine players

Luis Enrique criticised a new substitution rule after Paris Saint-Germain were temporarily forced to continue with fewer players during their 6-0 Champions League victory over Villarreal.

The incident occurred in the 74th minute, with Paris Saint-Germain already leading 5-0 after dominating the match. Referee Felix Zwayer intervened to enforce the regulation governing how quickly substituted players must leave the pitch.

Enrique had made three changes at the same time, replacing Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha and Desire Doue with David Boly, Lucas Beraldo and Quentin Ndjantou. However, Hakimi and Vitinha did not leave within the permitted period.

As a result, Zwayer did not allow all three substitutes to enter immediately. Paris Saint-Germain therefore had to play temporarily with fewer players while the delayed substitutions were resolved.

The decision angered Enrique, who attempted to push one of the substitutes on to the pitch. The player was shown a yellow card, while Zwayer allowed the match to continue, according to Marca.

“What happened with the three substitutions was a farce,” Enrique said after the match.

“Imagine if the score was 0-0, then they take three players off you, and after that I push one of them and he gets a yellow card. I would have pushed the other players as well! What is this? Are we playing children’s games?”

He added: “We also have to respect the professionals, just as we respect the refereeing team.”

The incident followed the implementation of a change to the Laws of the Game approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). Under the new rule, a player being substituted must leave the field within 10 seconds of the referee signalling or raising the substitution board.

If the player takes longer than that, they must still leave the pitch, but the replacement cannot enter until the first stoppage in play after a full minute has passed from the restart. The substitute may only come on with the referee’s permission.

The measure is intended to reduce time-wasting and prevent substitutions from disrupting the flow of matches.

Paris Saint-Germain completed a convincing victory when David Boly scored their sixth goal in the 78th minute. The commanding result did not prevent Enrique from continuing his strong criticism of the way the new rule had been applied during the match.