PSG with 9 players for 1 minute, Luis Enrique furious: "A joke". The regulation is clear

In PSG's extraordinary 6-0 victory at Villarreal, Luis Enrique also found a way to end the match in a controversial way, revisiting a particular episode that had irritated him more than anything else. In the 74th minute, with the score already in the French team's favor, 0-5, the coach decided to make three substitutions at once. But of the three players who were supposed to enter the field, only one managed to come on, forced into the game by his coach, while complaining to the referee and the fourth official. Thus, PSG had to play for a minute with a numerical inferiority, with nine players against eleven, provoking the coach's anger after the match: "A joke".

It all happened as the match was heading towards a more than predictable conclusion, with Paris Saint-Germain leading by five goals. Luis Enrique decided, with 15 minutes to go, to bring on Boly, Ndjantou and Beraldo instead of Hakimi, Doué and Vitinha, using the second substitution available. But something didn't go according to plan: of the three players who were supposed to come on, only one was able to do so, while the other two were stopped by German referee Zwayer, assisted by the fourth official. Luis Enrique erupted in an angry reaction, physically pushing Ndjantou onto the pitch, but PSG still had to play with a numerical inferiority complex.

An episode to which the Parisian coach returned in harsh tones after the match, emphasizing that the situation had put the team in great difficulty, although it later did not affect the final result. "What is this football for children? It was a joke," he quipped, analyzing the moment that also cost him a yellow card for protest. However, although the irritation can be justified by adrenaline, what happened during the triple substitution was simply the perfect application of the current regulation.

This is the so-called “10-second rule” for substitutions, which officially came into force globally on 1 July 2026. Introduced by the IFAB at its 140th Annual General Meeting in early 2026, following a successful trial in Major League Soccer in the USA, this rule sets out in detail the time allowed for substitutions, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of time. When the fourth official raises the electronic board with the substitution number, the player who must leave has exactly 10 seconds to leave the field, using the nearest point on the boundary line.

IFAB regulations and the 10-second substitution rule

If this does not happen, the “waiting minute” penalty is applied: the player must still leave the field immediately, but the teammate who should have come in his place cannot be activated immediately. And that is exactly what happened in the 74th minute of Villarreal-PSG. Instead of complaining about a rule that he should have known perfectly, Luis Enrique should also thank Zwayer: when the coach physically brought Ndjantou onto the field, the referee could have forced the player to return, but instead allowed the game to continue. Thus, PSG was able to play with nine players instead of just eight during the following minute.