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IFAB set to agree on new four-substitute rule

The 126th IFAB meeting in Bagshot, south west of London, will also debate the so-called "triple punishment" which is considered too severe for a player stopping a goal-scoring opportunity as sanctions can include a penalty, a red card and a suspension.

Another item on the agenda concerns the "vanishing spray" used at last year's Copa America where referees use a spray on the grass to mark the 10 yards defenders must retreat at free-kicks, with the line vanishing after a few seconds.

"The FIFA Task Force Football 2014, the medical committee and the football committee support the proposal in order to maintain the technical level until the 120th minute and to protect the health of the players," FIFA said in a statement.

IFAB will also study trials of the five-referee system, using additional assistants beside each goal to help referees' decision-making.

Prince Ali of Jordan, the youngest member of FIFA's Executive Committee, will present a case to IFAB to lift its ban and allow Muslim female players to wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, five years after it banned it for safety reasons.

IFAB, formed in 1886, pre-dates the foundation of FIFA by 18 years and is the game's ultimate law-making body.