Gary Neville bemoans 'nonsense' Premier League injury rule during Liverpool vs Arsenal

Neville criticized the Premier League's head injury protocol after Kerkez was forced off for a minute despite being uninjured, leaving Liverpool a man down against Arsenal.

Gary Neville launched a scathing criticism of the Premier League's head injury rule during Liverpool's match against Arsenal. Defender Milos Kerkez was forced to spend a minute on the sidelines after a clash of heads with Kai Havertz, despite getting to his feet without requiring treatment. Under a rule introduced this season, any player involved in a head collision must leave the pitch for a minute to be assessed, regardless of whether they are actually injured. Neville pointed out the flaw in the rule's application: with Liverpool trailing 1-0 with 20 minutes remaining, there was no logical reason Kerkez would have been trying to waste time. Instead, Liverpool were left a man down during a period of Arsenal pressure, putting them at a genuine disadvantage. "It's absolute nonsense," Neville said. "It'll cost a team in a big game at some point." Kerkez was later substituted in the 81st minute, replaced by Kostas Tsimikas.