Interview “We are destroying the spectacle”, warns David Terrier, president of the European union of professional footballers, on the infernal rates

Testimonies pointing to the increase in matches and the reduction in rest periods for the best players playing in Europe have taken on a whole new dimension in recent weeks. Guarantors of their demands and the protection of their physical and mental health, the professional footballers’ unions have decided to step up to the plate, first and foremost the FIFPro, a body bringing together the various national unions.

For franceinfo: sport, David Terrier, president of FIFPro Europe, also vice-president of the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) in France, looks back on this protest movement and the various issues that arise from it.

franceinfo: sport: What is the origin of the situation we are currently experiencing, where footballers publicly speak of their fed up with an extended schedule which would endanger their health?

David Terrier: It is quite simple. We go into the locker room six times a year, we talk at least once with the players of the French team, at the UNFP level in France. This is also the case in other countries such as England with the PFA [Professional Footballers’ Association]. It was brought to our attention a little over six years ago by the “top players”, who play in the big clubs and in national teams, of an overload of calendars, that it was starting to become difficult for them with the intensity of the matches which increased. We requested studies, in connection with Football Benchmark, a data analysis platform which provides us with an objective analysis of working times, but not only that. We have developed other parameters: journeys and different time zones, time spent at home, recovery times, vacations… This is what we transmit to the authorities, whether the leagues , federations and confederations, to alert them.

What feedback did you get?

Until then, they told us that there was not a big impact in terms of the number of matches, that it only concerned a few players. It was true at first, but our arguments were to say that it is also these players who keep the industry alive, through their talent, their image, the spectacle that they produce… But in fact we It was seen in the analyzes that it went much further than that. Some players told me: “You talk about Messi, Neymar or Mbappé, but I am an African player and, in the selection, I do not travel in the same conditions as them. I am on commercial flights in economy class and, when we arrive in the country , we sometimes take military planes.”

This is the example of Saliou Ciss, former left back and Senegalese international who played in Nancy and won the African Cup of Nations in 2022. He returned completely physically and mentally exhausted from the CAN, and his club went down in National. Behind, he did not find a club. There was a real impact and he felt responsible for not being able to give 100% of his abilities to his club, even though he is the one paying for it.

Today, the best players playing in Europe and involved with their national teams no longer play hard in every match?

No, they tell us that they can no longer compete 100%, that they manage themselves during the matches. We are destroying the show. Coaches of very high level teams implement strategies by saying: “We put a lot of intensity at the start of the match to make the difference and then, in the second half, we keep the ball and we manage the intensity.”

“People pay for their TV subscriptions, pay for their stadium tickets and see players who no longer play 100%. The bubble has burst, we are killing football.”

David Terrier, president of FIFpro Europe

at franceinfo: sport

Apart from protecting the players, our position is to say that it is also to protect the football industry. We have the impression that the system is going in circles, that there is always more money but that it is to the detriment of the show and that is no longer sustainable.

The next Club World Cup next summer, which is due to last almost a month, is unlikely to help things…

This competition no longer respects anything. It straddles two seasons, from June 15 to July 13. Knowing that employment contracts in Europe end on June 30, what do we do? Does this mean that if it had taken place last year, Kylian Mbappé would have started the Club World Cup with Paris and finished it with Real Madrid?

I agree 100% with the clubs, who are the employers and who must have them available, but the players must also defend their country. The French team, through its performances, generates income which makes it possible to finance amateur football and its development. This is all that is in danger. We don’t want the clubs to lose out, nor the domestic leagues and obviously not the federations. Or, we have to move towards an American closed league system, but there was quite strong opposition at the time of the Super League.

How many players are affected by this calendar overload?

We’re talking about 5-6% of the “top players”. But it’s already huge! They are the ones who make us dream, who unlock matches, create emotion, passion… And it is not pejorative for others. The best clubs and the best players will always have more money, it is the others who will pay the price by playing less, by having less income because the rights to their domestic competitions will lose value to the detriment of others.

For example, Ligue 1 was reduced to 18 teams because there were too many matches. Two fewer teams means fewer opportunities to have professional player contracts. And when TV rights for Ligue 1 fell, broadcasters decided to favor the premium product of Uefa competitions to the detriment of the domestic championship. The problem is much broader and more important than the fact that “players play too many matches”.

What weight can the union movement have in an environment like football?

Let’s say that our role is very clear: it is the players who take precedence. When they bring issues to our attention, we study them and defend them, we make them credible with studies from doctors and performance specialists. Then, if the authorities are not ready to listen, we must organize ourselves, mobilize with them and other organizations and create a collective movement to show that the players are not ready to let this happen. A football player is an employee like any other, he has rights like any other. And when he doesn’t even have one day off per week, we ask ourselves questions.

You have decided to take these issues to court…

Yes, we filed two complaints, the first before the Brussels High Court with the UNFP, the PFA, the Italian union and FIFPro Europe. The aim is for the judge to refer the issue of working time and workers’ rights (leave, rest, etc.) to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The second complaint, which will be launched on October 14, associates the leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, Liga, Serie A) with the unions and FIFPro Europe. We are going to contact the European Commission on the right to competition, the various European leagues considering that the multiplication of international competitions harms the attractiveness of domestic championships.

What should we expect?

The time for justice is never that of the athlete unfortunately. But the movement is growing, the players are following us, this can cause concern and force the authorities to find solutions.

Is a players’ strike possible in the coming weeks?

Yes, that’s a possibility. But there are also several ways to demonstrate. This can be a signal, such as staying fifteen minutes in the locker room before the start of a match, and going as far as boycotting a competition. But for that, we have to be together and there is nothing better than a union and a players’ organization like Fifpro to do it.