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Tim Howard says there should be a rule change in football after what happened to Liverpool player

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Liverpool have already had their fair share of luck this season.

They may have lost their unbeaten streak in the Premier League, but the fact that they’re still at the top of the Premier League table shows how good they actually are.

Arne Slot and Richard Hughes have welcomed over £400million worth of players through the Anfield doors over the last few months, with their team being far stronger than it was last season.

Indeed, there are a couple of players who still need to find their feet, but with the way things have panned out this season, the Reds look well on their way to retaining the Premier League title.

Hugo Ekitike has arguably been Liverpool’s best signing this season, with the attacker fitting into Slot’s plans almost instantly.

Hugo Ekitike, Rio Ngumoha and Ryan Gravenberch train ahead of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray
Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images

He’s often carried the Reds’ attacking line on his back, but in their third-round Carabao Cup win against Southampton last Tuesday, he ended up getting himself sent off after celebrating the goal he scored by taking his shirt off.

Tim Howard calls for a rule change after Hugo Ekitike was sent off for Liverpool

Even though it was only a third-round Carabao Cup tie, Ekitike still let his emotions get the better of him, resulting in him being given an early exit.

The Frenchman instantly apologised to Slot and his teammates, as he even posted a message on his social media apologising for his actions.

It’s clear that something like this is unlikely to happen again, given how apologetic the former Eintracht Frankfurt man has been.

However, while talking on the Unfiltered Soccer Podcast, Tim Howard shared his thoughts on the situation, even calling for a rule change.

“Should this rule still be around?” Howard was asked.

“The shirt? I mean, I don’t know why they, I don’t know what the impetus was to make this a yellow card,” Howard said.

“It’s stupid if someone made the rule. Was it because people were having like undershirts with like messages and, right? Sure, sure. So just make that the rule. My point is if you have, if you’re wearing red or blue and your undershirt is red or blue or you’re or you’re just bare-chested, it’s fine. If you throw your shirt up in the air, your teammate can go get it. It’s fine.

“If you have a slogan or if you take your shirt and you throw it in the stands, sure, you get yellow-carded. But to take like, do you know how many other stupid celebrations I see every weekend? It’s dumb, change the rule, change the rule.”

Liverpool's French striker #22 Hugo Ekitike starts to remove his shirt as he celebrates scoring their second goal, he was then sent off after picking up his second yellow card, during the English League Cup third round football match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Hugo Ekitike will have to prove his worth after what happened against Crystal Palace

In the game that Ekitike was suspended for, Liverpool ended up losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace.

Indeed, it was a deserved defeat with Oliver Glasner’s men the best team for most of the game.

However, there was the odd occasion when it felt like Slot’s men could steal something from the game, especially when Federico Chiesa netted Liverpool’s equaliser in the 91st minute.

And, although Liverpool may have the likes of Alexander Isak and Chiesa among their ranks to fill in for Chiesa, it’s clear that they needed an out-and-out striker to try and get something out of Marc Guehi.

The Englishman once again proved why he’s one of the Premier League’s best centre-backs on Saturday, with the defender managing to keep Liverpool at bay for most of the game.

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Now that Ekitike is back, he’ll have to prove how sorry he is by getting the Reds another three points added to their Champions League tally.

Here’s hoping that everything pans out as it’s expected to.