Players getting closer to strike, Club World Cup a ‘Super League’ in disguise, says union leader
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Fifpro Europe president David Terrier at the press conference on Oct 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BRUSSELS – Players have never been closer to going on strike amid growing discontent towards football’s governing bodies, notably Fifa and its revamped Club World Cup that is being compared to a “Super League”, the head of players’ union Fifpro Europe said on Oct 14.
David Terrier was speaking after Fifpro Europe, the European Leagues association and Spain’s La Liga accused Fifa of “abuse” as they filed a joint complaint about the global governing body’s international match schedule to European Union antitrust regulators.
Terrier said only “social dialogue” between the sport’s stakeholders could save its ecosystem.
“Obviously as a union leader I should be dreaming of a strike because it gives you more power, but I’m very attached to the concept of social dialogue,” he said.
“It would be a serious failure to get to that extreme but this extreme is getting closer every day.
“The European Union must remind everyone and tell them they have to go through social dialogue.”
In a joint press conference on Oct 14, Fifpro Europe, European Leagues and La Liga lashed out at Fifa’s packed match calendar, airing videos of players, including France captain Kylian Mbappe, saying they had too many matches on their plate.
Manchester City’s Rodri, who is currently injured, also opened the door to a strike in September.
“Are we going to go all the way (to a strike)? The players are ready and what they cannot stand is that Fifa does not hear or does not respect them,” Terrier added.
“More and more players are telling us they want to stage a strike.”
The Club World Cup, which will be contested by 32 clubs, will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025.
Terrier compared the event to the European Super League attempt in 2021 made by 12 top clubs from England, Italy and Spain to create a breakaway league.
The project eventually failed under massive pressure from fans, politicians, football officials and even the British royals.
“(The Club World Cup) is a devious way to build (a Super League) and Fifa will do everything to stick with their idea for credibility reasons. They should first and foremost take care of the nations, not the clubs,” Terrier said.
“They will finance it with their reserve revenues, but those should go to the clubs who need it.”
Fifa has yet to announce how it will finance the Club World Cup.
It said in 2019 it would expand the tournament to 24 clubs starting in 2021, although the Covid-19 pandemic and the rescheduling of Euro 2020 a year later made it impossible. REUTERS
