Another Premier League star in the fight against long set-ups. It doesn’t make sense, even the referees don’t want to do it, says Kevin De Bruyne

English football has had its traditional start to the season in the form of the FA Community Shield, which for the first time has seen an adjustment to the rules to be more mindful of set-up length. Raphaël Varane has previously been critical, and now Kevin De Bruyne has had his say.

The trend that was seen at the World Cup in Qatar is being carried over to English football competitions. Matches lasting more than 100 minutes will probably no longer be the exception, on the contrary. Rather, the exception will be matches that fall below that time slot.

Fighting for more net time played, reacting to stalling, frequent interruptions, delays in substitutions. A noble intention, however, as if paving the road to hell. Players who already face a demanding schedule disagree with the rule.

In the first round of the second English league, for example, games lasted an average of six minutes longer than the length of last season’s matches. The FA Community Shield match between Arsenal and Manchester City was also long.

Arsenal did help, as they equalised in the 11th minute of the second half and subsequently won on penalties, but according to the Citizens star, even the Gunners players are not happy about the new rule.

Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane was the first to publicly speak out against the rule, and now Kevin De Bruyne has emulated him. “We have spoken about it with Arsenal players and even with the referees. They don’t want to do it either, but it’s a new rule and that’s just the way it is,” The Guardian quoted the Belgian as saying after the game.

“If we play Sevilla in Greece in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday (August 16) and have 15 to 20 extra minutes and then have to go through the same thing at the weekend against Newcastle, it will be like double extra time. We’ll see how it goes, but it doesn’t make sense,” De Bruyne added.

Top footballers have long complained about too many games being played. This means an increasing risk of more serious injuries and with it a disruption to mental wellbeing. Equally, it can affect performance, so everyone could actually suffer from the rule.

Source: The Guardian, Daily Mail, Premier League