Premier League considers introducing use of FIVE substitutes per game in cramped schedule

Premier League football was placed on hold last month after Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19 in the same week. Since then, all training activities have stopped as the coronavirus outbreak reached England. Almost 20,000 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 in a month's time but things look to be improving in the last couple of days. UEFA authorities have put pressure on major European leagues to complete their remaining competitive games as soon as possible and finish their respective seasons. The Bundesliga is on track to make a return next month while Serie A could also return sometime in June. However, things could be a little different in England once the Premier League suspension is lifted.

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Premier League return: Premier League five substitutes experiment could be implemented in coming weeks

The Premier League suspension news came as a shock to football fans across the globe. However, it was inevitable that competitive games would be halted in order to protect players and fans. As things slowly start to improve in the UK, the English Football Association (FA) is contemplating a Premier League return sometime in May or June.

Reports have suggested that the Premier League return will see a lot of fixtures crammed into a month with top-flight clubs playing a match almost every other day. With such an intensive fixtures list, the English FA is considering the idea of introducing five substitutes in league matches to ease the load on players. In addition to that, there are further reports that VAR could be chalked off for the remaining Premier League fixtures due to rules regarding social distancing. 

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