LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp expressed concern Friday that player welfare is being risked by allowing only three substitutions to be made in Premier League games this season.
Premier League clubs voted against retaining the temporary rule which enabled five substitutions, a measure brought in when soccer resumed in June after the coronavirus outbreak as a way to reduce fatigue for players during a busy run of rescheduled games.
Spain, Italy, Germany and France have decided to keep the rule allowing five subs, one FIFA President Gianni Infantino said “has proven successful.”
Klopp said the compressed nature of the reshaped and late-starting 2020-21 campaign meant it would have been a “common sense” decision to give teams the chance to make more in-game changes for this season only.