Klopp & Guardiola Blast Premier League Over This Rule (See Details)
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp and his Manchester City counterpart, Pep Guardiola, have flayed the Premier League over its decision to revert to three substitutes.
Five substitutes were allowed after football resumed following the COVID-19 lockdown, to deal with hectic schedules.
Although other leagues continued with the format, the English Football Association chose to return to three substitutes, despite FIFA’s approval to keep the initial change in place until August 2021.
The Premier League argued that clubs with bigger squads would be favoured by the rule.
Klopp feels the Premier League showed a “lack of leadership” with the decision.
“None of the top seven clubs asked for any advantage. We just knew, because we knew our schedule, that it would be incredibly difficult. To have the best games at the weekend in the Premier League, it would have helped that as well. I think we should think about it again,” Klopp said.
Speaking on Friday, Guardiola echoed Klopp’s thoughts, saying there has been “47 per cent more muscular injuries” this year compared to the same stage of the campaign in 2019-20.
“The statistics speak for themselves. The players are not recovering from the previous game, even the previous season. It makes no sense.
“Who voted for the decisions? Who are they? They have to protect the players. They have to decide. The law is acceptable for FIFA, UEFA,” Guardiola added.
