What is the pink card used by referees at Copa America 2024?

Ten CONMEBOL teams and six invited nations from CONCACAF will compete in the United States from June 20-July 14 for continental glory and bragging rights.

Fans will expect the usual high drama and entertainment that comes with the best national teams from the region gathering every four years, but this tournament will also be a little different.

As well as being expanded to 16 teams, ahead of the 2024 kickoff the South American football governing body also announced a major change to the substitute rules for the tournament, most notably introducing the use of a pink card by referees as well as the traditional yellow and red.

Here, BALLGIST explains what it is and how it will work at Copa America 2024, along with all the rules for substitution regulations at the tournament finals.

What is the pink card used by referees at Copa America 2024?

The pink card at Copa America 2024 will be used by the referee to signal for a substitution in the event of a suspected head trauma or concussion.

Each team can make concussion substitutes independent of the five permitted regular substitutions they are allowed during matches at the tournament. The rule is designed to protect player welfare.

Once a concussion substitution has been taken, the opposing team will also have the opportunity to make a sixth substitution.

The competition’s governing body, CONMEBOL, has also confirmed that players suspected of suffering a concussion will not be able to return to the field and that they will be assessed in the dressing room or taken to a hospital if required.

Team doctors will then be required to submit a complete concussion assessment report within 24 hours of the end of the match in which the suspected head injury happened.

How many substitutions are allowed?

CONMEBOL has also confirmed that for this year’s tournament in the USA, teams can make up to five ‘regular’ (non-concussion related) substitutions during 90 minutes.

Coaches must utilize these in a maximum of three stoppages in play per team (which excludes half-time and other match delays).

It’s worth noting that if subs are made during any drinks break for hot or humid weather, these will be counted as stoppages.

If a game goes into extra time, teams can make one extra substitution, with one extra stoppage of play per team allowed in that extra period. If a team has already used all their substitutions, and a player must come off the pitch due to injury (non-concussion related), the club will have to finish the match with 10 men.

A player who has been subbed off the pitch is not allowed to later be brought back on.

Any unused substitutes from regulation time (90 minutes) are carried over into extra time; for example, if a side only made four substitutions in 90 minutes, they will have the luxury to make a double change in extra time.

These changes align with the substitution regulations introduced in major domestic football leagues and recent international competitions. The aim is to reduce the increased risk of player injuries and burnout due to fixture congestion, which resulted from the postponement of previous tournaments because of COVID-19.