UEFA Introduce New Champions League Rule: Liverpool, Chelsea Among Sides Who Could Benefit

UEFA’s Executive Committee has introduced a change to squad registration rules for men’s club competitions, permitting a temporary replacement in case of illness or injury.

The Champions League, Europa League and Conference League all permit squads no larger than 25 players, with quotas for both homegrown and club-trained options also enforced, and the regulations have caused problems for a number of managers already this year.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot was questioned for leaving winger Federico Chiesa out of his group, while Chelsea snubbed Deadline Day signing Facundo Buonanotte just hours after the Brighton & Hove Albion loanee confirmed his desire to play in the competition.

Meanwhile, Mathys Tel was left disappointed to be left out of the Tottenham Hotspur squad in what was one of the more surprising decisions, given the Frenchman had just been signed from Bayern Munich for £30 million ($40.7 million).

While those unfortunate players remain out of the squad for now, UEFA’s new ruling has opened the door to a change if a player is ruled out for an extended period before the sixth round of fixtures.

“The Executive Committee approved an amendment to the 2025–26 UEFA men’s club competitions’ regulations to admit the temporary replacement of a maximum of one outfield player with long-term injury or illness during the league phase until matchday 6 included,” a statement read.

Federico Chiesa was a high-profile absentee. | George Wood/Getty Images

“The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure.”

Complaints over the relentless football schedule, and the injuries that inevitably come with that, have continued to grow in recent years, with players and managers joining the mounting frustrations at what has been perceived as a lack of care from those making the decisions.

Wider squad rules remain the same for now, but the option of one replacement per team will undoubtedly come as a boost, although the specifics of the new regulations remain to be clarified.

Chelsea, for example, have included Levi Colwill in their Champions League squad just weeks after he began the lengthy recovery process from an ACL injury. While that would qualify as a long-term injury, potentially opening the door for Buonanotte to be called up, Colwill is registered as a club-trained player and it is not yet clear whether clubs would be permitted to replace such a player with one who would not count towards that quota.