Premier League reverts to 3 substitutions for 2020-21
LONDON: English Premier League clubs voted against continuing to allow the use of five substitutes in each game next season at their annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday. Clubs were allowed to increase the number of substitutes from three per match in the 2019-20 campaign when the league restarted in June, after a three-month hiatus due to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak.
Teams will revert to using up to three substitutes per match in the 2020-21 campaign, with a maximum of seven substitutes on the bench, the league said in a statement. Football’s rule-making body IFAB, in May, increased the maximum number of substitutes, looking to help teams battling possible fixture congestion as they tried to complete the season in a short period of time.
MURRAY, CLIJSTERS GET US OPEN WILDCARDS NEW YORK :
Former champions Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters were on Thursday both handed wildcards for the US Open which will take place under strict health guidelines here from August 31. Former world number one Murray, currently ranked 129 after a lengthy period battling a hip injury, narrowly missed direct entry. The 33-year-old won the first of his three Grand Slam titles at the 2012 US Open, becoming the first British male to win a major since Fred Perry in 1936.
KYRGIOS UNLIKELY TO PLAY FRENCH OPEN
MELBOURNE: Australia’s Nick Kyrgios said on Thursday he is unlikely to play at the French Open due to concerns about Covid-19. Kyrgios, who on Sunday announced his withdrawal from the US Open, told Australian television he planned to wait until it was safer to return to the tour.
“It’s a very slim chance I’ll play in Europe. Almost slim to none, to be honest,” he told Channel Nine. “I’m going to use this (time) to stay home, train, be with my family, be with my friends and I’m just going to act responsibly, and wait till I think there’s better circumstances to play.”
MAN UTD, INTER REACH EUROPA QUARTERS
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY: Manchester United and Inter Milan booked their places in the Europa League quarter-finals as continental football returned in empty stadiums amid the coronavirus pandemic. United won 2-1 against LASK Linz on Wednesday to complete a 7-1 aggregate win over the Austrian club, five months after the first leg was played.
Inter beat Getafe 2-0 with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Christian Eriksen. It was a one-off game played in Germany because they did not complete a first leg before the season was suspended. Earlier, Shakhtar Donetsk and Copenhagen also advanced.