Richard Keys wants Premier League rule change after watching Man City vs Chelsea

Richard Keys has called on the Premier League to take action and follow in the footsteps of La Liga after watching Saturday's game between Man City and Chelsea.

It has become a regular trend in top level football of late. Kyle Walker, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, amongst others, have regularly cut holes in their socks to avoid injury.

Anything too tight or constricting on a player's legs can potentially cause muscle cramping in the calf so to avoid a possible knock, players have, in the past, cut holes in their tight-fitting socks.

They can inadvertently apply heavy pressure to the muscles, especially when running and stretching, but beIN Sports pundit Richard Keys is far from pleased with the trend.

In fact, during Saturday's clash between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad, Keys brought up the topic while posting a picture of Conor Gallagher's cut socks.

He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Enough of this nonsense. There’s no need for it. The Spanish have outlawed it (although Bellingham gets away with it). It’s time we did."

La Liga have banned players from cutting their socks.

In fact, former Valencia defender Ezequiel Garay was once forced to change his ripped socks by the referee because they were deemed to not match the dress code.

Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, has continued to defy the rule alongside Real Madrid teammate Brahim Diaz, who has previously explained why he does it.

"My calves had gone up in the last few matches and I didn't know why," he told Spanish publication Defensacentral "Bellingham runs for 90 minutes and he's fine, so I said I have to do something.

"Let's hope they don't blow up again now that I go up the stairs!"

Image credit: Getty

Manchester City and England defender Kyle Walker has also offered an explanation as to why he wears socks with holes.

"The socks were actually too tight so it was causing pressure on my calves," he told SPORTbible.

"[It was] just to release my calves - or release the tension. I just cut holes in them and all of a sudden i had a few alright games and I was like, 'OK, I'm keeping this now.'"

Topics: Premier League, Manchester City, Chelsea, Conor Gallagher

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

@jackkenmare_