Luis Enrique brands substitution incident a ‘farce’ as PSG beat Villarreal 6-0

Luis Enrique called the substitution incident involving Achraf Hakimi and Vitinha a “farce” after Paris Saint-Germain were temporarily left two players short against Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain were leading 5-0 in the 74th minute when referee Felix Zwayer enforced a new rule governing how quickly substituted players must leave the pitch.

Luis Enrique had planned to make 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 the field within the permitted time. As a result, Zwayer did not allow all three substitutes to enter immediately, leaving the French side temporarily reduced in numbers despite their commanding lead.

The decision angered Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis 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 Spanish newspaper Marca.

Speaking after the match, Luis Enrique said: “What happened with the three substitutions was a farce. Imagine if the score had been 0-0, then they take three players away from 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 a children’s game?”

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

The incident followed the introduction of a change to football’s laws approved by the International Football Association Board. Under the amendment, 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 one full minute has elapsed from the restart. The substitute must also receive the referee’s permission to come on.

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

Paris Saint-Germain ultimately completed a 6-0 victory over Villarreal, with David Boly scoring the sixth goal in the 78th minute. The result secured a convincing win, but did not prevent Luis Enrique from strongly criticising the way the new substitution rule was applied.