Thomas Frank calls for UEFA rule change after Tottenham make Mathys Tel decision | OneFootball

Spurs forward has been left frustrated by his Champions League omission

As Tel had originally replaced an injured Solanke, who scored his first Champions League goal as Spurs beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Tuesday, UEFA regulations dictate that the Frenchman had to be the fall guy should his strike partner be reinstated.

The 20-year-old, who has been linked with a January loan move to Ligue 1 side Paris FC, is keen to force his way into France’s World Cup squad this summer, but his manager has ruled out an exit this month.

Frank appreciates Tel’s situation, reiterated that his hands were tied, and said it was not a reflection on how he felt about Tel as a player.

Getty Images

“Of course, it’s very tough for Mathys,” Frank said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“Just to make it clear, as I understand, my challenge was it could only be him or Dom. I couldn’t sub another player out. If so, I would have done it.

“Mathys has done well for us in many, many ways. It was him or Dom, and I chose Dom because, as I said, experience. He did, luckily, very well.

“But that’s not the same as [saying] I don’t like Mathys at all, he’s started four of the last five. That’s a clear signal that I also trust him and believe that he can do something good for the team and the club.”

Spurs, who are on course to qualify automatically for the round of 16, are able to make three changes to their squad should they make it to the knockout stages. Conor Gallagher and the potential arrival of Andy Robertson gives Frank more options.

With injuries piling up for Spurs, though, Frank believes UEFA needs to modernise its squad rules, given the extended fixture schedule, with teams now playing eight rather than six games before the knockout stages.

That’s something that we need to look into, which would have helped the situation with Mathys

Thomas Frank

“I think that’s something that Uefa need into to modernise those rules in general,” Frank continued. “When they made the rules, we had six group games; now we have eight.”

“Before, we had no games in January. A lot of the group stage was done after four games. Now, with the new format, you need to fight until the end, more or less, every team.

“We also have gone up from three to five substitutions, that means you use more games. In general, the matches keep creeping up.

“For the Euros and the World Cup [we have] bigger squads, so I think we need to look into it.

“Also, the changes we can do after January, now it’s only three. I can’t see why that shouldn’t be more, why you can’t change during if you have injuries.

“We’re not the only club who is struggling with this, definitely not. I know Johan [Lange, sporting director] brought it up to the Premier League meeting last year.

“That’s something that we need to look into, which would have helped the situation with Mathys.”