Premier League stars now blaming VAR for rise in injuries in complaints to PFA
Premier League stars are complaining of a sharp rise in injuries because of VAR delays.
They have highlighted the issue to the players’ union because of the increased risk of muscle strains and pulls after long stoppages. Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango has now insisted that the game’s decision makers sit up and take notice and must make player welfare their No1 “priority.”
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven suffered a severe hamstring injury while sprinting in his team’s clash with Chelsea earlier this month. It highlighted the issue for players who, like van de Ven, warm up before games but then muscles can become stiff because of regular and lengthy stoppages and it gets even worse during the cold weather.
Molango told Mirror Football: “Football must reach a point where fixture schedules and changes to the game are guided by evidence, with player wellbeing the priority. There needs to be a much better understanding of the growing physical demands on players and the impact of competition cycles, international travel and the timing of international tournaments.
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“We also need to fully understand the impact of new rules, such as longer games and lengthy VAR stoppages in cold temperatures, on players. This is something we know they have expressed concern about.
“The rise in injury rates among players should be demanding everyone's attention. We’ve already had reports of a 96 percent increase in hamstring injuries among Premier League players. These things don’t happen by coincidence, and we’ve not even reached the point in the season where the fixture calendar is at its busiest.”
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Games are being extended by lengthy injury time as Chelsea’s win at Tottenham saw two red cards, five goals disallowed and endless VAR checks which resulted in 21 added minutes being played. But it is the VAR stoppages which is of real concern and has been raised by players at several levels.
Molango addressed the England squad at St George’s Park during the last international break and the PFA is in close consultation with senior stars over the big law changes this season. Premier League stars have jetted all across the world for the last round of Euro qualifiers and also the South American qualifiers which saw Brazil face Argentina and a host of English-based players have been rushed back for this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp has long been voicing his view on the Premier League schedule (AFP via Getty Images) Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has highlighted the issue around his squad, complaining about Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off in their title clash with Manchester City despite the likes of Alisson Becker and others flying back from South America. The PFA are pushing for increased breaks, a minimum time before games and have held talks with UEFA, FIFA and the Premier League to try and establish better guidelines for players.
It was also been revealed in Howden’s Injury Index report that players endured eight extra days on the sidelines after the mid-season World Cup in Qatar because of the knock-on effect of more games and fatigue.
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The Premier League shareholders meeting ended in headlines about loan deals from Saudi Arabia being blocked.
But there was another interesting development in Tuesday’s get-together - which would have seen directors have to take personal responsibility for multi-millions pound deals. The Associated Party Transaction rules were drawn up more than a year ago to ensure that clubs could not inflate commercial deals, in-house sponsorships and also fair market value on permanent player transfers.
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But the Premier League had looked to tighten them up and they would have included a “personal liability” add-on where two executives or board members would have to personally underwrite a guarantee. Rather like the loan deal, it was voted down as it got a 13-7 vote which was one vote short to make it pass.
Prem bosses are likely to go back with further tweaks to get it voted through and it is worth remembering that the five substitutes came up short three times before being passed.
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The talk among Prem executives at the shareholders meeting was that the rule makers are gearing up for heavy punishments for Chelsea and Manchester City after coming down hard on Everton.
Everton feel they have been wrongly picked on but they have, after all, broken the rules and there are genuine growing safety concerns around Sunday’s game at Goodison Park.
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EFL bosses are closing in on the £915m financial deal with the Premier League.
To get from a complete stalemate a few months back to having it agreed in principle, is a very clear tribute to the work which has gone in over the past few months,
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There is a growing feeling the next Premier League TV deal will be the last which has a complete 3pm blackout.
TV companies are becoming more creative and more demanding. Amazon have got two rounds coming up and their midweek set of fixtures will feature an action-packed goals show on Wednesday, December 6.
The Every Game, Every Goal will show all the goals and key incidents from the six live matches being played concurrently that night.
It is a great idea which TNT Sports do for Champions League nights and also Sky have for the Carabao Cup.
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It's worth keeping an eye on referee Sam Barratt - in charge of West Ham ’s trip to Burnley - as he is making rapid progress through the ranks this season.
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