Gareth Southgate is able to make a sixth substitution in England's World Cup opener against Iran. The Three Lions have one of the strongest squads at the tournament in Qatar with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish among those ready and waiting in the ranks.
This is because Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was brought off against England in the first-half via a 'concussion substitution'. Therefore, England are also now entitled to a sixth change.
Beiranvand was replaced by Hossein Hosseini after colliding with centre-half Majid Hosseini when palming away a Kieran Tripper delivery into the box. His teammate quickly got back to his feet but the 30-year-old goalkeeper went down and was later treated by the Iran medical team.
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As he clambered to his feet, he swapped his shirt due to incurring a bloody nose. The shot-stopper momentarily carried on playing but looked shaky as he soldiered on.
Just minutes later he gestured to the Iran bench to be brought off and he was pulled from proceedings, leaving the field of play via a stretcher. And, BBC co-commentator Jermaine Jenas was furious with the Iran medical team who allowed Beiranvand to play on.
"This is where it shouldn’t be his call, [Ehsan] Hajsafi is getting involved and tell him to stay on the pitch," the former Tottenham midfielder said, speaking on BBC One. "He’s asking for more time, he’s clearly not in a good place. I don’t see how this is right, I really don’t.
"It seems like he’s being forced to stay on, it’s ridiculous. It’s the responsibility of the medical team to make the call, make the decision.
"We’re at a major tournament in 2022, constantly talking about concussion in the game and the long-term affects with dementia and this happens. It’s out of order."
Jenas added: "This is where it shouldn’t be his call, Hajsafi is getting involved and tell him to stay on the pitch. He’s asking for more time, he’s clearly not in a good place. I don’t see how this is right, I really don’t.
"It seems like he’s being forced to stay on, it’s ridiculous. It’s the responsibility of the medical team to make the call, make the decision. We’re at a major tournament in 2022, constantly talking about concussion in the game and the long-term affects with dementia and this happens. It’s out of order… he shouldn’t be on the pitch, I think it’s a joke."
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