Jamie Carragher has told European clubs to boycott Gianni Infantino's plans for a 32-team Club World Cup, insisting players need time to rest.
FIFA president Infantino announced FIFA's plans on Friday, with Mirror Football understanding Premier League clubs were unhappy with the development after being blindsided. The Italian pushed ahead with the plans despite reservations from the European Club Association, who represent 220 of Europe's leading sides.
The proposed tournament, which the FIFA chief said would be similar to the World Cup, is due to be held in 2025. No venue has been confirmed, though there had been reports of the United States hosting, a year before the country serves as one of three hosts for the 2026 World Cup.
"The men’s Club World Cup will take place in 2025, the location still needs to be discussed and decided but a 32-team tournament will go ahead," Infantino said at a press conference on Friday. "It will be like a World Cup."
"The principle was agreed to use the March windows, the 10 days in March, in even years – the World Cup years or Copa America and Euros years - is to organise friendly tournaments of four teams from four different federations. A FIFA World Series-type of events, to allow more matches of teams from different confederations."
Carragher, however, was resistant to the idea. He questioned it in the same breath as rubbishing the "ridiculous" idea of a World Cup every two years, another past proposal explored by the governing body.
"Players need rest at some point, they are getting treated like cattle," the former England defender wrote on Twitter. "FIFA hate the Champions League & want something similar themselves. European clubs should boycott it."
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Infantino's comments come against the backdrop of a different row enveloping European club football. Proposals for a European Super League failed to materialise in 2021, and a European Court of Justice hearing delivered a victory for UEFA over those clubs looking to form a breakaway competition
."The FIFA-UEFA rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval are compatible with EU competition law," a court statement read. A full ECJ judgement is expected to land in 2023.
"UEFA welcomes today’s unequivocal Opinion of Advocate General Rantos, which is an encouraging step towards preserving the existing dynamic and democratic governance structure of the European football pyramid," the European football governing body said in a statement.
"The Opinion reinforces the central role of federations in protecting the sport, upholding fundamental principles of sporting merit and open access across our members, as well as uniting football with shared responsibility and solidarity."
