Swindon boss Ian Holloway criticises “nonsense” international postponements while Exeter’s Gary Caldwell wants more.
It’s the international break, and while we know there is no Premier League or Championship matches, Leagues One and Two are also partially affected.
Swindon’s League Two match against Notts County isn’t going ahead with their opponents having three or more players called up.
Holloway argued that the game should proceed regardless, as Swindon would play even if they had similar call-ups.
Notts County’s manager, Martin Paterson, supported the postponement, citing fairness due to missing key players like Jodi Jones and Alassana Jatta.
Meanwhile, Exeter boss Gary Caldwell advocated for postponing any game if even one player is on international duty, arguing that current rules undermine league integrity.
Gary has called for any games where a club has a player away on international duty to be postponed.
Caldwell will be without Josh Magennis, who has been recalled to the Northern Ireland squad. This weekend, their game against Reading goes ahead.
EFL rules state that games in League One and Two can only be called off should one side have three or more players called up.
Ian Holloway said, per Swindon Advertiser: “God knows [how we will handle it]. It is absolute nonsense. For me, that doesn’t make sense, that doesn’t make sense, we should be playing.
“If we had three internationals, we almost have, but if we did, I’d expect to still play. Why is that rule any different in this division? Who knows?
“Everybody else is playing as well. So you end up a game behind.
“If we could play the game on the Tuesday, I would. If we could play on the Monday, I would, but obviously they’ll still be away, whoever they’ve got.
“It’s a bit disappointing. But never mind, hopefully we can put it back in our schedule as quickly as we can.”
In the meantime, Ian Holloway will give his Swindon Town players a mini pre-season.
Notts County boss Martin Paterson told BBC Nottingham: “I do think, to go down to Swindon without three good players at this level wouldn’t be a fair contest.
“When we take on really good teams, we want it to be a fair shake of competition, so that is as honest as I can be with that.
“We always want to play games for the supporters, we don’t want a break in that, as it is everyone’s favourite thing to do at the weekend.
“I don’t welcome it, but I think with the players who are missing, it would be an unfair reflection of two good teams going against each other.”
Gary Caldwell said to BBC Radio Devon: “I think if you have one player the game should be called off.
“I think that has to be a rule that comes in at this level, because Lincoln are going to face a stronger Exeter City than Reading are going to face, it’s as simple as that.
“That shouldn’t be right for the league so, for me, it should be called off, but we know what the rules are at this moment.”
“It’s not just us in this situation, a lot of teams are similar, and Reading are waiting on a few players, so they might have the three, but they might have two, they might have one.
“I think League One is a really strong league now. There’s more and more international players in it so why not fit it into the calendar like they do for the Championship and the Premier League?”
Caldwell on Magennis: “I think it’s a credit to him, his performances have been excellent since coming back from a serious hip operation and he fully deserves that,” Caldwell said.
“He’s still got that drive to get more caps and it was one of the reasons when I spoke to him about coming to this club and playing for us that he wanted to keep his international career going as well.
“I was fortunate to play at international level and I was always really proud to go for my country and always tried to turn up in whatever physical condition I was in, probably to the detriment of my career.
“But I think for him to get over his injury, he’s as fit as a fiddle, he is loving his football, scoring goals, to get that recognition can only be good for his morale and his games coming up.
“So hopefully he goes away and gets some game time and does well and comes back ready to impact our season after Reading.”
This isn’t the first time Gary Caldwell has called on the EFL to make a change, in 2024 he urged the league to introduce international breaks in League One – as the constant wave of postponements “devalues” the competition.
“I think it devalues the league a little bit when you look at the table and some teams have played two and three games more,” he said to Mirror Football.
“We actually had the three international players [required for a postponement] but the last of them didn’t get picked until Monday, and that’s past the EFL’s deadline.
“Look, we’ve got a fantastic squad and we believe we can win Saturday’s game, but I just think the rules need to change now that League One has become a league that is full of international players.
“I think there were two games [that went ahead] during the last break, possibly three. For me, it’s something the league has to look at to make it fairer on all fronts. Everybody should be in the same boat.
“From a planning point of view, when that game gets changed late it then gives us even more problems in terms of training loads and preparation for the following week.
“Listen, it’s a 46-game season and we know that’s coming, so you have to be resilient. But we don’t know when [the games are coming]. Adjusting the calendar [at short notice] makes it really challenging from a player welfare point of view.”
Also in 2024, Lincoln boss Michael Skubala said: “I think [a break] is something the league has got to look at, if I’m honest. I think they have to make sure that, as we have and want more international players in the league, which I think is starting to happen. Whether that be under-21s, whether it’s under-20s, whether it’s senior player, it does disrupt things.
“No one wants international breaks, especially when you’re winning games, and you’re in the flow. That’s the last thing you want. But, in the same sense, we need to make sure the competition is fair.”
“They won’t want to hear that”
Ian Holloway discussed how he planned to use his two weeks before Swindon play again #STFC https://t.co/Aj7tgp15S6— Adver Sport Desk (@AdverSport) October 8, 2025
Twitter users gave their thoughts as Ian Holloway criticises “nonsense” international postponements and Gary Caldwell wants more…
@AndrewCarn1: Agree with IH… total bollox
@JimNo1871: Don’t worry gaz mate you’ll be sound
@jamiewykes99: This is because he’ll be missing a key player in Josh Magennis. We’ll have more called up but they’ll be fringe/U21. If he had one player called up and it was 3rd choice GK he wouldn’t care
@samRFC71: what a stupid comment this is 😂😂 we’ve had our new centre half injured this entire start to the season? each game should’ve been called off then.
@NorthDevonRoyal: He’s scared of losing another game
@dingjoseph1871: What a moaning weirdo 😂 injuries exist meaning teams play a weaker side it’s just how the game works
@Run__Jimmy__Run: Does he not know we’ll be missing THE Mark O’Mahoney. But in all seriousness, doesn’t this apply to injuries accrued during the season too? Inevitably some teams will face others at their weakest / strongest points of the season. That’s just the EFL calendar 🤦🏻
@formulamclaren4: So can Reading get every game so far cancelled because injuries mean they were facing a weaker Reading
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