UEFA: New Rules for Countries Not Recognizing Kosovo

The UEFA Executive Committee met in Baku and decided to request FIFA and IFAB to review the current concussion protocol and to consider potential changes to the Laws of the Game (such as in terms of substitutions) to reduce the pressure on the medical staff and give doctors more time to assess a potential concussion off the pitch, so that no concussed player returns to the field of play.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: "The health of players is of utmost importance and I strongly believe that the current regulations on concussion need updating to protect both the players and the doctors and to ensure appropriate diagnosis can be made without disadvantaging the teams affected."

The Gamla Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, was appointed as the host venue for the UEFA Women's Champions League Final 2021.

Luis Rubiales (Spain) was appointed UEFA vice-president, whereas Noël Le Graët (France) was appointed European member of the FIFA Council until the next UEFA Ordinary Congress in 2020, both in replacement of Reinhard Grindel.

The following regulations were approved:

• 2020-22 UEFA European Futsal Championship

• 2019/20 UEFA European Under-17 and Under-19 Championships

• 2019/20 UEFA European Women’s Under-17 and Under-19 Championships

• Procedural Rules governing the UEFA Club Financial Control Body 2019

• UEFA Safety and Security Regulations 2019

• HatTrick V Regulations

The UEFA Disciplinary Regulations 2019 were also approved and now include the possibility for national associations or clubs to invite children up to the age of 14 from schools or football academies to attend matches to be played behind closed doors free of charge.

The UEFA Executive Committee agreed to start a pilot format for the UEFA European Under-19 Championships from 2020 to 2023. Based on a system with promotion and relegation between three layers, similar to the UEFA Nations League, it would offer more mini-tournaments between teams of equal strength before an eight-team final tournament.

If this test phase proves positive, then the system would be implemented at U17 level too from 2023.

The access list for club competitions 2020/21 was approved and includes the principle that all associations below position 50 of the ranking (51 to 55) be permanently allocated two spots in the UEFA Europa League.

The Executive Committee approved a match policy regarding countries not recognising Kosovo, except for those cases where an exclusion has been decided by the UEFA Executive Committee on security grounds (currently Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina). Teams which cannot host Kosovo clubs or national teams on their territory may request to organise their home match on neutral ground. However, they will have to accept to play away matches in Kosovo.

The next meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Tuesday 24 September 2019.

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