Indian assistant coaches mandatory for all clubs in new ISL rules

A mandatory Indian assistant coach for all clubs, permission of concussion substitutes and appeal against "wrongful" red card decisions are some of the new rule changes that were announced by the Indian Super League on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming 11th season beginning on September 13.

As per the new rules, "all the teams must have an Indian assistant coach, holding the AFC Pro License (or equivalent)".

"If the head coach is relieved from his position or suspended for certain matches, the Indian assistant coach will take over all head coach duties as the Interim head coach," the new rule stated.

A perfect case in point will be regarding FC Goa where Gourmangi Singh will take over the coaching role when Manolo Marquez, who is the current India head coach, is not available.

A player or club can also contest a dismissal if they believe a player was wrongly sent off due to an obvious referee error. Such a provision has been introduced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and