Mohamed Salah initially feared that Liverpool were about to violate Premier League regulations by making a sixth substitution during their match against Southampton on Saturday. The Egyptian forward urgently tried to prevent the change until referee Lewis Smith clarified that manager Arne Slot was permitted to make it.
Under normal circumstances, teams are restricted to five substitutions per match, an increase from the previous three allowed before 2020. While trailing 1-0 against the league’s bottom team, Liverpool made three halftime changes, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister, Harvey Elliott, and Andrew Robertson in place of Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, and Konstantinos Tsimikas.
Later in the second half, Slot also introduced Diogo Jota and Wataru Endo, reaching the standard substitution limit. That’s why Salah intervened when Jarell Quansah prepared to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 89th minute, believing the team had exceeded their allowance.
However, referee Smith explained that because Southampton had made a concussion substitution in the first half—replacing Jan Bednarek with Armel Bella-Kotchap—both teams were granted an additional change, increasing their limit to six.
According to International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules, referees must prevent a team from exceeding the permitted number of substitutions. If an official mistakenly allows an extra substitution, it must be reversed, and the incident must be reported after the match.
Fortunately for Liverpool, all of Slot’s changes were within the rules. Their relief was compounded by a second-half comeback, scoring three goals to move closer to securing the Premier League title.
Darwin Núñez opened the scoring from open play before Salah netted two penalties, ensuring Southampton left empty-handed. Liverpool now sit 16 points clear at the top, though Arsenal, who play at Old Trafford on Sunday, have two games in hand.
Reflecting on the game, Salah admitted, “We were sloppy and slow in the first half. I don’t think we played well today. If you want to win the Champions League or Premier League, you have to win these kinds of games. The manager was frustrated—his head was gone at us. Southampton had a good game plan.”
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