Players’ union FIFpro and top European leagues filed a complaint against FIFA over the “abusive” international match calendar.
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FIFpro slams FIFA over “abusive” calendar
The complaint was submitted on Monday to the European Commission.
European Leagues, Fifpro, and LaLiga said FIFA is risking the players’ safety and well-being with their “abusive” and “anti-competitive” calendar.
FIFA recently expanded its tournaments, including the World Cup and Club World Cup.
The football governing body has yet to respond to the formal complaint filed with the European Commission.
“FIFA refuses to listen and engage with the players, the main labour resource of our industry, who are there on the pitch, creating a powerhouse of European and global entertainment culture, and pushing their bodies to the limit,” said FIFPro Europe president David Terrier.
“But we have listened to our players, have received the same messages for a long period of time, that they are playing too much and do not have enough time to recover. Ahead of the worst season ever for workload, many have also decided to talk in public with the same message: enough is enough.”
Football chiefs slams FIFA
Some players have raised concerns over the increasing number of fixtures, noting that it may impact their overall health.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas said Monday has been “one of the most important days in football.”
“Today is one of the most important days in football,” Tebas said.
“For me, there’s been two historical days in football. One in 2019 when we stopped a reform of the Super League and today we’ve given a very important step in what we believe is the path of changing the governance of football institutions and we’re not going to let this opportunity get away.”
Meanwhile, Premier League boss Richard Masters said in a statement that football has reached a “tipping point.”
“It is getting to a tipping point. The feedback we have from players is that there is too much football being played and there is constant expansion,” he said.
“The Premier League hasn’t changed shape. What has changed over the last few decades is the march of international and regional football competitions.”
