© AFP
Seen in the Community Shield? An injury time of more than ten minutes. And it won’t stop at this one game. From now on this will be commonplace. The English FA decided that the injury time will be kept more accurately. This will make the matches last longer. Guardiola and Varane are outraged by this decision.
Monday, August 7, 2023 at 11:11
The football players’ programs are already overcrowded. Now the English FA decided – following what also applied at the World Cup – that the injury time in matches will be longer. That became clear in the first match of the new season. Stoppage time in the Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal was over ten minutes. Guardiola did not hide his frustration at the post-match press conference: “A match will now last 100 minutes, that’s for sure. We have to accept it, the new rules were agreed with us without consultation.”
And Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane was also keen on Twitter (X) for the decisions of the FA. “We had a meeting with the FA last week. In it they proposed the new rules. We as players have been indicating for years that we have to play far too many matches. The schedule is way too packed, it becomes dangerous for the mental and physical health of footballers.”
The Frenchman – who incidentally put an end to his international career due to the busy schedule – continues: “Despite our feedback, they have now decided that next season we will play longer matches with more intensity. We just want the opportunity to give 100 per cent every match for club and fans. Why is our opinion never heard, the defender wonders.
