Crystal Palace Women are under investigation by the Women's Super League after breaking substitution rules in their 1-0 home victory over Everton on Sunday. The match, played at Gander Green Lane, saw Palace use four substitution windows across the 62nd, 83rd, 90th and 97th minutes, with the final change coming in the seventh minute of 13 minutes of stoppage time. League regulations permit a maximum of three substitution opportunities per team per match, and Palace made five substitutes across those four windows.

The WSL confirmed that Crystal Palace Women used a fourth substitution opportunity during a fourth stoppage in play, which violates competition rules. Referee Megan Wilson, who has officiated in the WSL since 2023 and overseen more than 45 games across WSL 2, WSL and Cup competitions, was in charge of the match. Following the incident, Wilson and her match officials have been stood down from the next round of fixtures in both the WSL and WSL 2.

The WSL is conducting the investigation alongside both clubs and Pro Ref, the body responsible for overseeing match officials across the Premier League, EFL, WSL and FA Cup. Sources confirmed to BBC Sport Football that the investigation will examine whether Palace gained an unfair advantage from the extra substitution window. There is no automatic punishment for such breaches in WSL rules, but the club could be referred to an independent tribunal with the power to impose sanctions ranging from a warning or fine to points deduction or other sporting penalties.

Tom Garry said: "If you field an ineligible player, there are three options that are stipulated in the rules." He added: "One is that you would be deducted the points gained from that match, which in this case would be three points."

Despite the off-field issue, Crystal Palace Women remain newly promoted to the WSL and currently sit 13th in the league table with 3 points from 3 games, recording a record of 1 win, 0 draws and 2 losses. Their recent form is WLL, having scored 4 goals and conceded 8 this season for a goal difference of -4. They are 6 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Crystal Palace Women will travel to Arsenal in their next WSL fixture on Sunday, while Everton will welcome Charlton in their upcoming match. The club’s upcoming fixtures can be reviewed on our fixtures page, and further details about the squad are available on our squad page.