Abhay Singh
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min, known for his exceptional skills and dedication on the field, has joined a growing chorus of football stars in expressing worry about the excessive number of games players are being expected to participate in.
In a poignant statement, Son emphasized the physical and mental toll that relentless match schedules can take on athletes, highlighting the urgent need for stakeholders to prioritize player welfare and reconsider the current system.
“You don’t want to see players struggling with injuries”
The South Korean international claimed that given the demands made of them, players were at “massive” risk of getting hurt. His remarks follow Rodri, a midfielder for Manchester City, who revealed last week that players were on the verge of going on strike. Rodri suffered injury to his knee ligaments a few days later.
He said “You don’t want to see players struggling with injuries. No one wants to see it, A lot of games, a lot of traveling. We’ve got to look after ourselves, which sometimes is very hard.”
“Mentally, physically, you’re not ready. Then going on to the pitch and then the risk of injury is massive. We’re not robots. Don’t get me wrong, we love playing football. That’s clear.” He added.
Rodri has ligament damage in his right knee
Without indicating how long Rodri would be sidelined, City announced on Wednesday that the player has ligament injury in his right knee. He was hurt after he bumped with Thomas Partey in the area during a corner during Sunday’s Premier League match between City and Arsenal. Son expressed agreement with Rodri’s worries.
Son said “Rodri said the right things. We play 50, 60 games and not more than 70 games. When the fixtures come, the players have to play. There’s a lot going on,”
In response to the mounting disagreement about the packed calendar, City manager Pep Guardiola stated last week that it was up to the players to demand a change in the game of football. This season, there are two more games in the revamped group stage of the Champions League.
The enlarged Club World Cup in the United States next year will feature 32 teams instead of only seven as it did previously. Many major baseball teams have scheduled it for June or July during their offseason.
Players’ unions have launched a legal battle against the new Club World Cup structure. Ange Postecoglou, manager of Tottenham, stated that players might take a stance.
He said “They may take things into their own hands. They’re the ones most affected to be honest, so you would understand if they started to think as a collective, how much are we going to have to continually not have a say in? I have spoken already about the fact we’re getting to a real dangerous level about what our expectations are around players. Instead of focusing on one or two tournaments, it’s about the calendar. That is more of an issue.”
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