FIFA warned that players would “take matters into their own hands” if nothing was done to address the increasing workload, while players’ union FIFPro suggested strike action would be inevitable.
With the fixture schedule becoming increasingly congested, FIFPro Europe president David Terrier said there was a “state of emergency” over the growing mental and physical fatigue among players.
The Terriers have called for regulations to limit the number of games as the FIFPro player workload and recovery season review highlighted some worrying numbers.
As part of the review, a player survey found that more than 50% of respondents said they had been forced to play while already injured, while 82% of managers said they had used a player they knew needed rest.
“We are facing one of the most pressing issues in our sport, highlighted by government failure,” Terrier said at the FIFPro event in London.
“It caused dangerous mental and physical exhaustion. The problem is who listens and who doesn’t listen. As a trade union, listening to our members is the most important part of our job. Listening means accepting responsibility.
“The players are speaking and communicating with us and it is clear that there is an emergency situation. We are in danger. Athletes are pushing their limits and the international schedule is packed.
“What is FIFA’s response? “More games, more competitions, more money – there are no guarantees for the players.”
As for FIFA, Terrier suggested FIFPro would go no further than investigating its members about whether to strike if the situation did not improve.
“FIFA doesn’t listen to the body. “Their decisions impact the entire ecosystem, but making unilateral decisions is a failure of governance and we can no longer accept this,” he added.
“We need to listen to the players so we can get a timetable that will be okay for everyone and only in those situations can we get guarantees like season breaks and back-to-back games.
“If FIFA doesn’t listen, we will take matters into our own hands and I’m not ruling out any possibilities.”
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters was part of the panel in his role as president of the World Leagues Association and also struck out at FIFA.
“The problem is real,” he said. “We are starting to see the impact of the decisions of local and international organizations. The calendar is less coordinated with every decision being made.
“I have no faith that anything will change. When you feel like you are not being heard, you become frustrated. We think enough is enough. “It’s a shame to come here.”
La Liga president Javier Tebas went further and criticized the world federation.
“We sent a letter but FIFA ignored us,” he claimed.
“If we don’t take action, our industry is at risk… We are destroying football. Now we have to take legal action. We cannot wait one more day.”
The PA news agency has contacted FIFA for comment. President Gianni Infantino said at the organization’s meeting in Bangkok earlier this month: “FIFA organizes about 1% of the world’s top club matches, while 98-99% of matches are organized by the various leagues and associations. , Federation.”
In FIFPro, there was a specific warning for young players and the number of games they were asked to participate in increased as their bodies continued to develop.
The case of Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham was highlighted. He has played more than 18,000 minutes of football, compared to David Beckham (3,929 minutes) and Wayne Rooney (15,481 minutes) at the same age.
Darren Burgess, former Arsenal and Liverpool fitness coach and current chairman of the FIFPro High Performance Advisory Network, explained the issue.
“If you’re under 21, your tendons don’t fully grow, so everything grows until your mid-20s. “The demand for young players is huge and growing,” he said.
“An off-season blackout period is a simple solution that should happen automatically. If you can’t schedule a tournament, it can take three to four weeks.”
Burgess also highlighted that the mental fatigue players are experiencing is having an “increasingly negative impact” on players at all levels of the game.
He added, “If we continue down this path, the players’ mental health will be at risk.”
“The players are not recovering properly from the game and the season. “The upcoming calendar will make these problems worse.”
