Footballers, like any normal person, enjoy the opportunity for a brief respite from everyday life as they reign in the festive period of Christmas and the New Year.
But for the players in the Premier League and lower down the EFL pyramid, those moments of rest and relaxation come few and far between.
Far from it being a time to shut down across the two-week festive period, it’s actually the busiest time for footballers. While other top European leagues begin their winter breaks, English teams often play every three days across a congested schedule in bitterly cold and wet conditions.
But there is a loophole to be exploited, one that has been used by dozens of Premier League stars over the years to ensure they get a few extra days off with the family and a generous helping of Christmas dinner.
Any player who accumulates five yellow cards inside the first 19 Premier League games of the season will be handed a one-game suspension by the Football Association.
And former Premier League star Teddy Sheringham, who played for Manchester United, West Ham, Portsmouth and Spurs during his glittering top-flight career, revealed that players have been calculating their bookings since his playing days in the early 2000s.
In fact, the ex-England international claims one of his former team-mates deliberately got a yellow card to miss one of their holiday fixtures.
“There were always players trying to get booked for the Christmas period so that they could have a nice rest at Christmas,” said, speaking on behalf of FreeBets.com.
“They were trying to time it that they got booked and they served their two-week ban in those two weeks. So very clever of those boys.”
When asked if he would reveal the names of those former team-mates, Sheringham said while laughing: “I might have to mention [former Millwall player] Terry Hurlock, he might have been one of those!”
Heading into the Boxing Day fixtures on December 26, there were 39 players at risk of suspension. Chelsea pair Nicolas Jackson and Robert Sanchez were walking the tightrope, as were Liverpool trio Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Darwin Nunez.
A booking for any of those five players in Gameweek 18 would’ve seen them miss their respective Boxing Day clashes.
Managers have also been forced to impose strict limits on players as fixture demands grow more intense, with alcohol and large helpings of food across Christmas now distinctly a thing of the past.
While some players would do their best to circumvent the measures put in place, Sheringham said the sheer number of matches involved made it difficult to go out for a night on the town.
“Oh, without a doubt there was a booze ban. It was so busy over Christmas, especially going back a long way,” Sheringham added. “At the start of my career, you sometimes played back to back on Boxing Day and the day after. Then it changed to Boxing day and the 28th.
“But very often you’d play five games in about a 14-day period, which made it very hectic. They’ve tried to change it a little bit now, but yeah, it was always a tough time.”
