Spurs captain Heung-Min Son becomes latest player to criticise workload faced by players and wants reduction in games; Son: "We are not robots"; Son also expressed his "love" for Tottenham team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur, despite Uruguay midfielder making an alleged racist remark about him
Wednesday 25 September 2024 22:09, UK
Tottenham captain Heung-Min Son has criticised the increased workload on players and has urged the football authorities to take the issue "really seriously" amid speculation players could take strike action.
Son has become the latest player - including Man City duo Rodri and Manuel Akanji, and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker - to voice concern over the additional workload facing elite professionals.
Rodri, who suffered a knee ligament injury in Sunday's 2-2 draw against Arsenal, even suggested last week players could strike over increasing fixture congestion.
Speaking ahead of Spurs' opening Europa League game against Qarabag on Thursday, Son said: "A lot of players came out and said the right things and I think it was very important that someone actually came out to say the right things.
"Players are the main guys to have to say something and it's definitely a lot of games. As a football fan you want to see a quality game, not as many games as possible, and you don't want to see people or players struggling with injuries, which nobody wants to see.
"It's definitely a lot of games, a lot of travelling [so] we have to look after ourselves which is sometimes very hard, and sometimes mentally and physically you're not ready and when you're going onto the pitch then the risk of injury is massive.
"We are not robots, so I think we just definitely have to look after that and definitely reduce the games and can play a better quality of game. I think this should be the aim."
He added: "I think it's a lot of work and the programme is adding even more games. For example, City played on Sunday [against Arsenal] and Tuesday [against Watford]. This was not even flexible, so it could probably move for the guys to Wednesday instead of Tuesday, but it's not flexible.
"I think this is what we are talking about and this is normal that everybody gets an injury and a high risk of injury. I think it's not fair.
"Also, I think Rodri says the right things that we play maybe 50 or 60 games and not more than 70 games - I think this is not fair."
Asked whether he would be in favour of going on strike, the South Korea captain replied: "No, you want to go to the final and play a lot of games. That's a different scenario, but what I want to say is that the platform, for example, the Champions League changed to play even more games and I think this is not right to look after players.
"What we can do is that we definitely can change it and we can definitely go in a good way that people can look after the players."
Questioned over whose responsibility it is to strike, the 32-year-old responded: "It's definitely not the players.
"When the fixtures come the players have to be on the pitch. There's a lot going on. UEFA, the FA and FIFA, everybody has to take this really seriously. It's not just random, like only a few players come out saying it's way too many games.
"What we want to see is high-quality games and top games with top players, so I think this should be the aim.
"Obviously injuries also sometimes come with less games, but with the possibility of a lot of travelling, a lot of games then it will be higher than when you play less games."
Spurs begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday at home to Qarabag and the initial phase of the competition has been extended to eight games instead of six, which is also the same for the Champions League.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said of player welfare: "They may take things into their own hands. They're the ones most affected to be honest, so you would understand if they started to think as a collective, how much are we going to have to continually not have a say in?
"I have spoken already about the fact we're getting to a real dangerous level about what our expectations are around players. Instead of focusing on one or two tournaments, it's about the calendar. That is more of an issue.
"Players don't get a break between seasons any more like they used to. There are more tournaments both at club level, international level and continental level.
"So, it's going to get to a point where we are not going to have the best players out there playing and, even worse, them breaking down for various reasons. It's definitely something that needs to be addressed."
Son also expressed his "love" for team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur, despite the Uruguay midfielder making an alleged racist remark about the South Korean over the summer.
The former Juventus man was charged last Thursday with an alleged misconduct breach by the Football Association in relation to a media interview.
In the clip, which emerged in June, the host of a Canal 10 show asked Bentancur to show the shirt of a Spurs player, with the 27-year-old allegedly replying: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."
While an apology from Bentancur was swiftly forthcoming, due to this being an "aggravated breach", if an independent regulatory commission panel upholds the FA charge, he could be suspended for six to 12 domestic matches, the PA news agency understands.
Son said: "At the moment, because of the FA process, I can't say much about it. But I love Rodrigo, I love him. We've a lot of good memories, we started playing together when he joined [in January 2022].
"He knew. He apologised straight afterwards when we had holiday. I was at home. I didn't even realise what was going on. He sent me a long message and you could feel it was coming from his heart.
"When we came back for pre-season, he felt really sorry and he almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.
"I love Rodrigo. I love him, I love him. He knows he made a mistake but I've no problem at all with him. We move on as a team-mate and friend and as a brother. We move on together."
