NEW YORK (US) – Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp stressed upon the Premier League to rethink its decision to continue with a maximum of three substitutes per game instead of five. The tight schedule has led to player fatigue and injuries.
While top leagues across Europe have made it five substitutes per game in a season hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Premier League opted to use only three.
As Klopp’s Liverpool have been plagued by numerous injuries, the German boss urged authorities to make the change in the interest of player welfare.
Klopp told reporters, “Thank god we had the managers’ meeting and if we would have voted that day, it would have been 15-5 in favour of five subs.”
“We couldn’t vote, as managers aren’t allowed to do that, but it has gone from 11-9 in favour of three subs to 15-5 in favour of five. Now, hopefully, those making the decisions can make the next steps.”
Though the English Football League (EFL) has given permission for its clubs to make five substitutions in matches, any change in the Premier League needs the 14 teams to vote in its favour before it can be implemented.
Klopp added, “We need to make changes with the subs, we need to talk about the fixture list. In Christmas we will again play twice in less than 48 hours and we’ll have this discussion again.”
“Everyone will look at me (and say) ‘Oh, he is talking again about all this stuff’. But at Christmas from a physical point of view, it is possible what we do, but really dangerous and over the season it’s the same.”