The French Players Union (UNFP) is urging a reevaluation of the football calendar following a series of serious injuries to players.
Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, aged 21, sustained a knee ligament injury during training with the French national team.
His club teammate, Aurelien Tchouameni, aged 23, suffered a stress fracture to his left foot in a match against Barcelona last month.
Additionally, 17-year-old Paris St. Germain midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery will be sidelined for the rest of the year due to an ankle injury sustained while making his debut for the Les Bleus.
These incidents have prompted concerns about the toll of the current football schedule on player well-being.
“We were right. We knew it. We said it. Repeatedly. And said it again,” UNFP said in a statement late on Wednesday.
“But while senior executives are obliged to listen to us, it’s rare that they actually listen to us, especially when the interests at stake go beyond the boundaries of the field.”
UNFP said it was “high time to undertake a thorough reform of the calendar”.
“If the post-World Cup period has vindicated all those who are calling for an overhaul of the fixture list, these are only the first signs of an even deeper crisis that will also end up damaging the spectacle,” it added.