BEVERLY HILLS, December 17, (THEWILL) – Clubs in the English Premier League, on Thursday, voted against a change in the number of players that teams can substitute in a match. This is the third time a call to allow teams to make five substitutions per match did not sail through.
Club managers like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have called for the EPL to adopt the change. Klopp called it a “necessity” while Guardiola labelled the current three substitute limit a “disaster”.
Frank Lampard had earlier noted that it would be good to “revisit” five substitutions as “the demands on players are huge for every club.”
Presently, the EPL is the only major league in Europe to have gone back to the standard three without retaining the five substitute limit introduced when domestic football resumed towards the end of last season after the pause enforced by the coronavirus.
The proposal again failed to meet the favourable threshold of 14 out of the 20 clubs involved. This was also the case before the current season began when it was voted down twice.
While rejecting the five substitute limit proposal, the clubs voted in principle to introduce permanent concussion substitutions.
To this effect, clubs will be allowed up to two additional replacements per game if players are suspected of sustaining, or diagnosed with, a concussion.
This follows the approval of the rule change on a trial basis on Wednesday by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs the laws of the game. The EPL will apply to IFAB to be part in the trial, which begins next month.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
