‘I would love to push for five substitutions because five substitutions were made to protect the players when coronavirus popped up and made life difficult’
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has backed calls for the Premier League to reintroduce the five substitutions rule, highlighting the increasing rates in the number of covid-19 infections.
Tuchel echoes the thoughts of Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick who also recently staked a claim for the league to allow clubs to make five substitutions during a game.
Top-flight clubs were previously allowed to make a maximum of five changes once football returned during Project Restart back in 2020, before reverting back to the more familiar three-sub rule at the start of the current season.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) recently enabled leagues to make the five subs option a permanent rule change if they wished, but the Premier League have yet to make a change so far and the Chelsea boss believes reintroducing the rule would be beneficiary to squads.
🗣 "I am a big fighter and supporter of the five changes."
Thomas Tuchel wants to see the option of five substitutions return to the Premier League pic.twitter.com/KUTJBhrSza
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 23, 2021
“‘For us it’s the same situation as for anyone else,” he told Sky Sports.
“We have concerns, because we are not only football players and coaches, we are also fathers and have family members so we are also concerned and have doubts and fears.
“Still we are privileged to do our jobs and do what we love the most so it’s kind of in between. I’m very impressed with how the team takes it.
“I just can say on this occasion I would love to push for five substitutions because five substitutions were made to protect the players when coronavirus popped up and made life difficult.
“I think the situation is very serious and very challenging so if we decided to keep on playing at least we should have five changes to control the load.”
Chelsea travel to the West Midlands on Boxing Day to face Aston Villa, who will be without manager Steven Gerrard after the club confirmed he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Christmas Day.
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