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The number of substitutes allowed has been a hot-button topic during his hot-topic of a Premier League season, and the Premier League have finally relented and starting this weekend, will be allowing two more substitutes ... to sit on the bench.
That’s right, teams will be allowed to name nine substitutes instead of seven, but still will be only allowed to use three instead of five.
El. Oh. El.
Shareholders also approved an amendment to Premier League rules to increase the number of substitutes a club may include in their team sheet from seven to nine, from Match Round 14 in Season 2020/21 only
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 17, 2020
The move to expand the bench probably has a lot more to do with the league’s announced intention to trial IFAB’s suggested rule changes regarding “concussions subs”, which would allow teams to make two extra changes in a given game for (suspected) head injuries.
And while that’s certainly good and more than welcome and probably long overdue, the staunch refusal of the majority of the league’s stakeholders to increase the number of substitutes from three to five — like every other European league sensibly have — continues to baffle and rankle.