Question Number: 22631

Law 3 - Number of Players 12/10/2009

RE: Adult

john of marsascala, malta asks...

have substitutes always been allowed in soccer if not when where they introduced?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

No. It was not until 1958 that FIFA first permitted substitutes, and then only for an injured goalkeeper and one other injured player.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
The annals of football matches are littered with incidents of teams playing short due to inury and no substitutions. In the 1958 WC finals in Sweden Brazil beat France 5-2 with France reduced to 10 men through injury to its captain. France were favourites to win having the leading scorer in its ranks. It was not until 1970 that subs were allowed in WC games

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

It's very difficult to find what would be considered 'facts' when it comes to anything regarding events in the history of soccer. According to topendsports.com under World Cup Firsts:

The first replacement of player in a qualifying match was Germany's Horst Eckel replaced by Richard Gottinger against Saar on 11 October 1953.

The first player to be replaced in World Cup finals due to injury was French goalkeeper Alex Thepot. The goalkeeper was kicked by a Mexican player in the jaw in the opening match of the 1930 World Cup. He was replaced by midfielder Augustin Chantrel.

Answers.com agree with the 1953 account and also say:
"On August 21, 1965, Keith Peacock of Charlton Athetic F.C. became the first substitute used in a Football League match when he replaced the injured goalkeeper Mike Ross eleven minutes into a league match away to Bolton Wanderers F.C.."

FIFA.com says 1958 with a caveat:

1958: Substitutes are permitted for the first time, albeit only for an injured goalkeeper and one other injured player.

And,finally, this from Wikipedia which also lists references for their statements:

The origin of football substitutes goes back to at least the early 1860s as part of English public school football games. The original use of the term "substitute" in football was to describe the replacement of players who failed to turn up for matches. For example, in 1863, a match reports states: "The Charterhouse eleven played a match in cloisters against some old Carthusians but in consequence of the non-appearance of some of those who were expected it was necessary to provide three substitutes.[1] The subsitution of absent players happened as early as the 1850s, for example from Eton College where the term "emergencies" is used[2] Numerous references to players acting as a "substitute" occur in soccer matches in the mid 1860s[3] where it is not indicated whether these were replacements of absent players or of players injured during the match.
As early as the qualifying phase for the 1954 World Cup, substitutions were permitted during games, the first ever replacement being Horst Eckel of Germany during their match with the Saarland on 11 October 1953.[4]
Substitutions during matches in the English Football League were first permitted in the 1965-66 season. During the first two seasons after the law was introduced, each side was permitted only one substitution during a game. Moreover the substitute could only replace an injured player. From the 1967-68 season, this rule was relaxed to allow substitutions for tactical reasons.[5]
On 21 August 1965, Keith Peacock of Charlton Athletic became the first substitute used in the Football League when he replaced injured goalkeeper Mike Rose eleven minutes into their away match against Bolton Wanderers.[6]
Archie Gemmill of St. Mirren was the first substitute to come on in a Scottish first-class match, on 13 August 1966 in a League Cup tie against Clyde when he replaced Jim Clunie after 23 minutes.[5]
The first official substitute in a Scottish League match was Paul Conn for Queen's Park v. Albion Rovers in a Division 2 match on 24 August 1966. Previously, on 20 January 1917, a player called Morgan came on for the injured Morrison of Partick Thistle after 5 minutes against Rangers at Firhill, but this was an isolated case and the Scottish League did not authorise substitutes until 1966.[5]

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 22775