Exeter City: Gary Caldwell wants EFL to change call-up rules

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell has called on the English Football League to change its rules around postponing games due to international call-ups.

Clubs in League One and League Two can have games postponed if they have three or more players away with their countries, but must request by 17:00 GMT on the Sunday before the following Saturday’s game.

On-loan Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Kamari Doyle was called up to England’s Under-20 squad on Monday after a player pulled out over the weekend.

Exeter already had Northern Ireland striker Josh Magennis and Finland winger Ilmari Niskanen called up, but the deadline for a postponement had passed.

“I think it’s a wider issue that the league needs to look at. League One now is as at a level of quality where most teams have international players,” Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon ahead of Saturday’s game with Lincoln City.

“We are one of the lower budgets in the league yet we have two full international players who have been away every camp.

“We have younger players who have always been on standby, Kamari’s been called up this time and we have other players that could play for their country.

“So I think the whole league now needs to look at it because for me it’s not just playing games without your full squad through fault of your own, but teams on 15 games, teams on 13 games it changes the league.

“The integrity of the league, for me, can get called into question and it shouldn’t be the case.

“It’s a fantastic league, it’s full of quality, let’s just make sure that every team has a full quota of players for every game.”