Manchester City are disappointed with the decision by Premier League clubs not to increase the number of permitted substitutions in a game from three to five.
City have been vocal advocates of being able to use two more substitutes in a game all season due to the shortened pre-season and hectic schedule for teams in European competition.
However, Premier League clubs have voted on the subject twice before, both times choosing to remain with three substitutes. Now, after a third vote, they have once again failed to pass the threshold of votes needed to add two more changes in a game.
Despite Pep Guardiola's reluctance to use all three permitted changes in recent fixtures, City believe having the option to make more substitutes is about player welfare in this unprecedented season. City are bemused as to why any clubs who voted the latest motion down wouldn’t act in the interests of their own players, rather than there being any suggestion of clubs with bigger squads gaining an advantage.
With 14 votes needed to pass, the ten clubs who voted against the proposal are understood to be Aston Villa, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leicester, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield United, West Ham, and Wolves.
However, clubs have agreed to increase the number of players named on the substitutes bench from seven to nine in Thursday's meeting. They have also agreed to look to implement protocols which will allow a maximum of two concussion substitutes to be used per team after the International Football Association Board approved a trial to better protect players with actual or suspected concussion.
The additional concussion substitutions may be made regardless of the number of substitutions a team have made already, and the opposition side would able to use the equivalent number. The League will now apply for permission from IFAB, via The FA, to take part in the trial, which could be implemented as early as January 2021.
