Aleksander Ceferin has dismissed Jurgen Klopp’s concerns over player welfare, telling the 55-year-old that only ‘the factory workers’ have a right to complain.
The German had been critical of the organisation over the Nations League tournament directly following what was an extremely physically demanding campaign with Liverpool.
“It’s easy always to attack FIFA and UEFA, but the thing is simple. If you play less, you get less money,” the Slovenian was quoted as saying by the Mirror.
“Who should complain are the factory workers who get €1,000 per month.
“Everyone wants more cup games, but nobody gives up on anything. Clubs wanted 10 games in the Champions League group stage.
“They’ll have eight, it’s the right number. Domestic leagues should have 18 clubs, but the presidents do not agree. They should understand that two domestic cups are too many.”
The former Borussia Dortmund boss’ qualms are more than understandable given the 63-game season his men played as the Reds competed on all fronts for silverware.
It seems absolutely baffling that player welfare and wellbeing continue to be a topic of little interest to the head officials of both UEFA and FIFA, with there remaining great interest in plumping up fixture schedules in the interest of greater financial rewards.
The inevitable result of all this, of course, will more than likely be an increased array of injuries suffered across Europe as clubs attempt to remain competitive across all competitions.
Alternatively, the demands of the season may (as it has before) force coaches to more heavily rotate in the interest of safeguarding their squads from being overworked in a sport that is becoming increasingly indifferent to the plight of the modern player.
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It is the greed of FIFA and UEFA that is the reason for recent proposals. Nothing more, nothing less. Putting the focus on Klopp’s legitimate qualms of player welfare show just how much FIFA and UEFA really care about player’s welfare.