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Football

06th Aug 2020

Premier League teams vote against continuation of five subs rule

Premier League clubs have voted against the continuation of the five substitutes rule, opting to revert to three subs, as it was before the restart

Reuben Pinder

We’re going back to three subs, folks

Premier League clubs have voted against the continuation of being able to use five substitutes next season. The rule was introduced for Project Restart after three months of no football to mitigate the congested fixture schedule, and was going to be extended into next season, which is also set to be very congested.

The idea of continuing the five subs rule came under a lot of scrutiny in recent weeks from high profile figures in football and fans as well, with many highlighting that bigger, richer clubs with deeper squads were likely to benefit from the rule change more than those in the bottom half of the table with less quality on the bench.

But they need not worry, as the extension of the rule has been voted down at a shareholder meeting on Thursday morning. For the 20/21 season, the rules will revert to three subs and 18 mans squads, as opposed to the 25 man squads that have been used since the restart.