UEFA PRESIDENT HITS BACK AT JURGEN KLOPP AND PEP GUARDIOLA OVER FIXTURES
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has hit back at managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp over their fixture congestion complaints.
Guardiola and Klopp have been hyper critical of the football calendar over the last season, with the former even hinting that striking may be the best option to have changes be implemented:
“The problem is the fixtures. The calendar, 365 days a year with international duties for the national team, huge competitions with a lot of games. The players have two or three weeks of holiday in the summer and it’s the season again. This is too much.
“Should the players and the managers be all together together and make a strike, or something, because just through words it’s not going to be solved? For FIFA, the Premier League, the broadcasters…the business is more important than the welfare.”
Ceferin has addressed criticisms of the football calendar, stating that the clubs want the money that comes from playing extra games and that it is not UEFA or FIFA’s decision to have two domestic cups – with Premier League teams competing in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup every year.
“It’s easy always to attack FIFA and UEFA, but the thing is simple. If you play less, you get less money,” he said.
“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.”
