As we head into the business end of another Premier League season, there have been plenty of coaches, most notably Pep Guardiola, suggesting that too much is being asked of players at the top level now.
Speaking to the Match of the Day presenters after Man City had beaten Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final, it was clear just how much of a hot potato topic player welfare was for the manager.
Pep Guardiola was not happy that Manchester City had to play the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday after facing Real Madrid on Wednesday.#BBCFootball #FACup pic.twitter.com/YaAKsLwTfG
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 20, 2024
Central to Guardiola’s ire appeared to be the fact that despite City being the only team in action during the previous midweek – in a Champions League quarter-final second-leg against Real Madrid – they were still expected to play on the Saturday, rather than getting an extra days rest and played on the Sunday.
Presenter, Gary Lineker, rather embarrassingly admitted it might’ve been the BBC’s fault, but Guardiola’s point still stands, in that player welfare appears to be well down the list of priorities for the game’s governing bodies.
Now former Everton CEO, Keith Wyness, has called upon the likes of Man City and others to revolt against UEFA and FIFA.
Former Premier League CEO calls for revolt
“The biggest issue with player welfare is at the top level,” he said on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast.
“For all the UEFA lip service being paid to this issue at the moment, they are the ones creating the biggest problem.
“That’s one area where English football has to push back – against UEFA and FIFA. But it may be too late, with the calendar coming up in the next year.”
Though such advice is unlikely to be heeded, perhaps Wyness has a point.
Nothing was ever achieved by people being meek and mild about issues that are of real concern.
Feathers need to be ruffled and fists banged on desks, metaphorically, for anything, however small, to get done.
Unfortunately, it appears as if the game’s governing bodies are only interested in consistently making more and more money, via the playing of more and more games and tournaments, many of which are totally uneccessary.
Time will tell if the current European champions or any of their opponents in either the Premier League or Champions League decide to stage a protest and change the course of the game as we know it.
