FIFPRO Europe, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA, England) and the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP, France) welcome UEFA’s decision not to apply the new guidelines around additional stoppage time to European competitions.
This decision shows UEFA have listened to the players and their unions.
"This is an excellent player-centric decision which will make a difference for footballers across Europe," said FIFPRO Europe President and UNFP Vice-President David Terrier. "The fruitful cooperation with UEFA underlines our shared commitment to enhancing player welfare.
“This collaborative approach fills us with confidence for the future relationship between UEFA, professional players, and their respective unions.”
PFA CEO and FIFPRO board member Maheta Molango said: “Player workload is the number one issue when I speak to members at clubs who will be competing for club and country. It is totally unsustainable. It’s clear they are having to make really difficult decisions about how to protect their own health and fitness.
“The comments from Zvonimir Boban [UEFA’s Chief of Football] show that he gets it. From his own experience he understands the player perspective and the fact that this is ultimately a player wellbeing issue. I will keep saying it – we can’t keep pushing the players until they break.”
