Footballers in Spain will be able to take water breaks when matches are played in extremely hot weather after the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) backed a call for a change in the rules.
The RFEF accepted a petition from the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), backing a change that will mean play can be temporarily halted for players to be hydrated.
The development follows a weekend in which soaring temperatures affected games, with Valencia's Jose Luis Gaya reportedly suffering heat exhaustion against Real Betis.
The AFE started the petition before the weekend, when temperatures surpassed 40 degrees Celsius (103 Farenheit) in many areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
La @RFEF ha atendido petición de futbolistas. Se modificará el reglamento. A ver si @deportegob escucha a @afefutbol y aficionados españoles
- Luis Rubiales (@LuisRubiales17) September 13, 2016
AFE president Luis Rubiales wrote on Twitter: "The RFEF has accepted the players' petition. The regulations will be modified."
Last week, Spanish Football League president Javier Tebas had said some games on the weekend fixture list could have been postponed due to extreme hot weather.
He tweeted: "Yes, when it comes to schedules, La Liga has to look more at the health aspect than the money."