The English Players’ Union PFA and FIFPro are firmly against Premier League’s plan to play an extra ‘international round’ abroad. FIFPro president Gerardo Movilla: ‘We totally agree with FIFPro’s former president and English PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor who thinks ‘it will put too much pressure on our top players.’
The Premier League clubs agreed to examine proposals to expand the regular season and play 10 games overseas starting in 2010-11.
The matches would be played at five venues around the world over a single weekend in January 2011. Each city would host one game on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The international round would be in addition to the traditional 38 home-and-away matches each of the clubs currently play.
FIFPro’s former president and Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor expressed concern that the plans would put more pressure on top-flight players.
“I can’t see it being very helpful, in a very crowded fixture programme, to introduce one more game,” he said.
“It’s trying to get a quart into a pint pot, it’s driven commercially. From the business side of things it will look good but you have to remember that this is a sporting business and you are dealing with human beings.
“This will increase the injury problems of the top-flight players. It is going to the well too many times and it is treating players as commodities.
“If you encourage caution then you are considered to be out of date but that is not always the case.
