Premier League moves Arsenal and Crystal Palace matches amid fixture congestion row | OneFootball

Arsenal and Crystal Palace have seen their Premier League matches on the weekend before Christmas moved forward a day to allow “adequate player recovery time” for their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash three days later.

Arsenal and Palace were due to face away trips on Sunday 21 December at Everton and Leeds respectively, which meant their Carabao Cup tie on Tuesday 23 December would be a second game within 48 hours for both.

They will now play both fixtures on Saturday 20 December at 8pm, adhering to the Fifa recommendation of at least 72 hours’ rest between games.

The two London sides will then meet at the Emirates Stadium on the following Tuesday. This a different midweek to the other Carabao Cup ties, taking place on the week commencing 15 December, due to Palace’s involvement in a Conference League game on Thursday 18 December.

A statement from the Premier League said: "Player welfare is a priority for the Premier League, and we have therefore granted requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move their respective fixtures.

"This comes after the scheduling of matches from other competitions around Premier League fixtures without adequate player recovery time. This is also further evidence of the impact the expanded Uefa competitions have on the domestic fixture calendar.

"The League would like to thank Leeds United and Everton for their co-operation in accommodating these changes."

The original schedule saw Palace play three times in the space of five days, while Arsenal had their own concerns of playing twice in the space of 48 hours.

Both Arteta and Glasner went on to complain about the schedule not respecting play welfare, causing the Premier League to alter when the relevant top-flight fixtures are played.

However, Palace are still staring down the barrel of playing two games in three days, with their Conference League clash against KuPS taking 48 hours before their meeting at Elland Road. The game with KuPS is part of the final round of the competition’s league phase - which are all due to be played at the same time.

Oliver Glasner has been left frustrated by the fixture scheduling (PA Wire)

Palace issued a plea to move the European tie back to Wednesday but it is reported that Uefa has turned down the request.

Glasner blasted the various governing bodies in charge of fixture scheduling earlier this month, lamenting the perceived prioritisation of profits over player welfare.

The Austrian said: “It's not about the welfare of the players. It's not about talking together and find what's best. Everybody is just looking at himself to maximise the money.

“That's the situation. Now we can say it's the Uefa schedule. It was clear this week before Christmas there is the Conference League played. It's clear, 99 percent, that the English participants will play there. So why fix the Carabao quarter-final there? Why? I just don't understand. Again, it was clear.

“Then I think, maybe somebody corrects me, there is a hierarchy in football. So it's the Uefa games, it's the Premier League games and then I don't know how it's FA or EFL or it's on the same level. And then if there is a Uefa game day, you can't say we play the quarter-final.”