Luis Enrique described the handling of Paris Saint-Germain’s substitutions as “a farce” after the French side were temporarily reduced to nine players during their 6-0 UEFA Champions League victory over Villarreal.
The incident occurred in the 74th minute, with Paris Saint-Germain leading 5-0 after dominating the match. The team had attempted to make three substitutions at the same time, but referee Felix Zwayer applied a new rule governing how quickly players must leave the pitch.
Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha and Desire Doue were due to come off, with David Boly, Lucas Beraldo and Quentin Ndjantou named as their replacements. However, Hakimi and Vitinha did not leave the field within the permitted time.
As a result, Zwayer allowed only some of the changes to take effect immediately, leaving Paris Saint-Germain temporarily short of two players. Luis Enrique reacted angrily on the touchline and attempted to push one of the substitutes on to the pitch. The player was shown a yellow card, while the match was allowed to continue.
Speaking after the game, Luis Enrique criticised the decision and questioned whether the regulations were being applied appropriately.
“What happened with the three substitutions was a farce,” he said. “Imagine if the score was 0-0, then they take three players off you, and afterwards 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 decision followed the introduction of a modification to the Laws of the Game approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). Under the new provision, a substituted player must leave the field within 10 seconds of the referee signalling the change or raising the substitution board.
If the player takes longer than that, they must still leave the pitch, but their replacement cannot enter until the first stoppage in play after a full minute has passed from the restart. The substitute must also receive permission from the referee.
The change is intended to reduce time-wasting and prevent substitutions from disrupting the flow of matches.
Paris Saint-Germain completed their emphatic win when David Boly scored the sixth goal in the 78th minute. The result gave the French side a convincing victory, although it did not prevent Luis Enrique from continuing his strong objection to the way the new substitution rule had been enforced.
