What is my role at substitutions?

Laws of the Game 2026/27

• You indicate when a substitution is requested (Law 6). Once you've been told by the fourth official or a team official, signal it to the referee at the next stoppage.
• You also monitor the substitution procedure.

The procedure you are watching (Law 3):

• the player being replaced leaves by the nearest point on the boundary line, unless the referee allows otherwise
• they must be off within 10 seconds of the board being shown or the referee's signal; if they aren't, the substitute may only enter at the first stoppage after one minute following the restart
• the substitute enters only during a stoppage, at the halfway line, after the replaced player has left and after the referee's signal

Under SAFA's Uniform Rules, only substitutes named on the team sheet (up to seven) may take part.