The PFA have been joined by Italian and French player unions, FIFPRO Europe and European Leagues in filing a joint complaint against FIFA to the European Commission. Serious concerns have been raised about the impact of a growing international match calendar, including next year’s FIFA Club World Cup, which will feature 32 teams for the first time.
The revamped tournament will feature 12 European clubs including Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City. They will be joined by sides in each of the other five federations in a competition running from June 15 until July 13.
PFA chief and FIFPRO board member Maheta Molango said: “Legal action is the unfortunate but inevitable consequence of major stakeholders within the game – the leagues and the players – being ignored. In England, we’ve already seen major changes to the structure of the FA Cup which have essentially been forced by the expansion of international competitions.
“Those changes affect all our members and their careers. Even since initial legal action began last month, led by the PFA with the French and Italian player unions, next summer’s African Cup of Nations has had to be moved. That is an unavoidable result of FIFA scheduling its expanded Club World Cup for next June and July.
“AFCON will instead be played in the middle of the European season. That will directly and unexpectedly impact national leagues, clubs and – most importantly from our perspective – players. These are big, potentially career-altering decisions being made without proper consultation or negotiation.
“It’s just not tenable to continue to argue that this approach to the fixture calendar is working. As always, it’s the players who are expected to bend. As we have seen, eventually they will break. It has to stop.”
Multiple Premier League sides were riddled with injury problems last season, with many theorising that the increased physical demand on players was at least partly to blame. Overall injuries were up 15 per cent from the previous four campaigns.
A joint statement made by European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe added: “For several years, the leagues and player unions have repeatedly urged FIFA to develop a clear, transparent, and fair process regarding the international match calendar. Regretfully, FIFA has consistently refused to include national leagues and player unions in its decision-making process.
“The international match calendar is now beyond saturation and has become unsustainable for national leagues and a risk for the health of players. FIFA’s decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players.
“Legal action is now the only responsible step for European leagues and player unions to protect football, its ecosystem and its workforce from FIFA’s unilateral decisions. This complaint, that will be formally filed by European Leagues, LaLiga, and FIFPRO Europe will run in parallel to separate actions initiated by individual leagues and player unions at national level.
“European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe have already informed the European Commission of their decision and look forward to working closely with the Commission, relevant public institutions and football stakeholders throughout the investigation process.”
