There’s precedent for playing two games in one midweek in recent seasons, involving Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but it’s not exactly putting player welfare front and centre. In July, player representatives and Fifa agreed there should be a minimum rest period of 72 hours between matches.
“I’m really upset but I spoke about this issue three months ago when I looked at the schedule, in the summer, the off-season,” added Glasner. “There are people who work on this and I would really like it if they talked together.
“We have international games, the two cups and the Premier League. It would be nice if Uefa, the Premier League and the FA talked together because it’s so surprising. Maybe now you can’t find a solution, but we need to get it sorted. It would be irresponsible playing Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
“But there is a solution because the week after, on the 21st [of December] we play Leeds and then we play on the 27th. There was a big discussion as to why there are no Boxing Day [matches]. Again, they fixed these games without talking to anyone. It would be nice if they all talked together, this is their job, what they get paid for.”
Even if Palace can successfully argue against playing on 16 December, which remains the most likely date, there’s no solution to please everyone.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted on Friday: “Every decision that we make in terms of a fixture has to be guided on two main things I think – player welfare and then supporters, that’s it.”
Picking Tuesday, 23 December, will mean both Arsenal and Palace only get 48 hours after their Premier League games on the previous Sunday, with the Gunners at Everton and Palace visiting Leeds.
Arsenal may well feel that they shouldn’t have to give up their week off due to a situation which isn’t of their making. Palace will say it’s the fairest outcome, as both clubs will go into the cup tie facing the same problem of short-term fatigue.
Christmas Eve – Wednesday, 24 December – has also been mooted, but with London’s transport system beginning to close down after 7pm it would be impossible to play an evening game with 60,000 fans at the Emirates. And that means playing during the afternoon, which is technically a working day, and it would probably have to kick off by 4pm at the latest. It’s not a solution that in any way caters for supporters.
Wolves and Chelsea were forced to play on Christmas Eve in 2023 – the first time a top-flight game had been scheduled on that day for 28 years. It caused huge controversy, but at least it was on a Sunday with a 1pm kick-off.
Someone is going to be affected whichever day is chosen, be it players or fans.
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