A few hours before the Nations League match that will pit France against Belgium, on Monday, October 14 in Brussels, another match will begin in the Belgian capital, at the judicial field. The International Football Federation (FIFA) is the subject of a complaint to the European Commission for violation of competition law rules and abuse of a dominant position.
The authors of the complaint filed on Monday (the European branch of the global players’ union, Fifpro, and the association that represents the interests of national professional leagues in the Old Continent, the European Leagues) accuse FIFA of drawing up the club competitions. and selections without worrying about the opinion of the main stakeholders: the players.
Several of them had also been publicly upset about it in recent weeks, believing they had thrown away too much. “We have been saying it for three or four years”French international and FC Barcelona defender Jules Koundé denounced in September. “But no one listens to us, we (…)the first actors. There will come a time when we will go on strike. Only then will we have to be heard. » Alerted by private speeches from increasingly dissatisfied players, Fifpro claims to have asked FIFA to start negotiations. “We always find the door closed”laments David Terrier, president of the European branch of the union.
“There were consultations”responds a source from the international federation. “ They led to the final version of the calendar” for the period 2025-2030, validated on March 14, 2023 in Rwanda, in Kigali, during the organization’s annual Congress. The expanded version of the Club World Cup is then approved, the first edition of which will be held in June 2025 with twelve European teams – compared to one previously. “A unilateral decision, the straw that broke the camel’s back”The judge, for his part, David Terrier.
A threshold of 55 games per season that must not be exceeded
The start of the new Champions League formula in September, with at least two additional matches per team, relaunched this now hot news. “We are not opposed to new competitionsDavid Terrier specifies. But we want a co-construction of the calendars, which takes into account the opinions of the players. » However, this is not the case today, according to Fifpro, which has been publishing annual reports since 2019, prepared by Football Benchmark, on the infernal pace imposed on professional footballers.
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