Premier League To Allow Five Substitutes Per Game

The Premier League in England is set to resume in June 2020 and several measures have been put in place to ensure the players are safe and protected against the Coronavirus.

After thorough consultations with stakeholders, the Premier League players agreed to return back to the pitch but the games will be played behind closed doors that are, the fans will be watching the games from home.

In the latest agreement, all the team will now be allowed to have at most nine substitutes on the bench as opposed to the usual seven. Thus a team will have the chance of substituting five players during a game against the initial three.

When the league resume on June 17, 2020, all the teams are set to play nine matches in a period of six weeks and thus players are likely to get exhausted. This situation made stakeholders come up with the suggestion of adding more substitutes to complement the available players.

In total, there are about 92 matches set to be played when the Premier League restarts.

“For the remainder of the 2019/20 season, the number of substitutes that can be used during a match will increase from three to five players,” a Premier League statement said after a meeting of shareholders on Thursday.

“This is in line with the temporary law amendment made by the International Football Association Board last month.”

Players will only be allowed to arrive alone for training as well as during matches to avoid them interacting before being tested for Covid-19.

Tackles and handshakes were also banned during matches to reduce contact among players in the pitch. Tests will also be conducted twice a week.

Other leagues are also expected to resume in June but also with their own set of rules. The German Bundesliga already started its fixtures in May.