When can loan players play against their parent clubs?

In the Premier League and FA Cup, a loan player cannot be fielded against his parent club.

The Football Association's rule for men's FA Cup football is that a loan player "cannot play in a competition match against their parent club", while the Premier League handbook states that "during the period of the temporary transfer... a player shall not play against the transferor club".

Players can face their parent club in the League Cup, according to English Football League rules, but that club must give written consent.

Uefa rules dictate that clubs cannot apply "any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may [or may not] field in a match".

That means a player can face their parent team in any of Uefa's European competitions.

In women's football, the FA ruling is that shall be "mutually agreed by the two clubs and the player".

Often, the parent club will decide whether the loan player can face them. In January 2024, Everton loanee Kathrine Kuhl was not allowed to face her parent club Arsenal in the WSL.

Lomana LuaLua was the last Premier League player to make a notable impact when facing his parent club - he scored an equaliser for Portsmouth against Newcastle United.

Since 2004, the Premier League has changed its rules to prevent players featuring against the teams that loan them out.

In 2022, Chelsea blocked on-loan midfielder Conor Gallagher from appearing for Crystal Palace in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

"We met some weeks ago, we met after the international break by coincidence in a restaurant, and we had a chat and the subject came up. And I apologised," Chelsea's then head coach Thomas Tuchel explained in the build-up to the game.

The rules changed shortly after and now state: "The association will not give permission for players on loan or work experience to play against the lending club."

It meant Sheffield United were unable to field loanees Tommy Doyle and James McAtee in their 2023 FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

Newcastle were granted permission from Chelsea to play loanee Lewis Hall in December 2023, when the teams faced each other in their EFL Cup quarter-final.

Marco Asensio faced parent club Paris St-Germain in their 2024-25 Champions League quarter-final against Aston Villa, after his loan move to Villa Park in February.

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