Santa Clara squad up in arms: “We demand respect and professionalism” | OneFootball

The Santa Clara squad took to social media this Friday to criticize the requirement to play, in round 15 of the championship, the home match against Arouca with less than 72 hours of rest.

Vasco Matos’ players will have less than three days to prepare for the match against Arouca, after having gone into extra time against Sporting in the Portuguese Cup round of 16 (a 2-3 defeat). The match against the Lions sparked controversy, especially due to the penalty awarded during stoppage time, which allowed Sporting to equalize (2-2).

The message was addressed to Liga Portugal and the Players’ Union.

“We, the players of Santa Clara, want to protest against being forced by Liga Portugal to play against Arouca with less than 72 hours of rest, due to the fact that our previous match went into extra time. This fact should have already been considered when scheduling the game, since last season, in Alvalade, our match also went into extra time, just as it happened in this edition of the Cup. We regret that the players’ union has not spoken out in our defense, putting us, due to lack of rest, at risk of injury. We remain together and united, working professionally to honor our club and our region. However, we demand respect and professionalism from all entities,” reads an Instagram story shared by all the players of the Azorean club, currently 11th in the Primeira Liga.

Santa Clara squad’s protest message

Before the clash with Sporting, Santa Clara had already expressed dissatisfaction at having less recovery time than the national champions—the Lions played on Saturday, the 13th, while the Azoreans only took the field on Monday, the 15th, due to the postponement caused by Sporting Braga’s participation in a European competition on the previous Thursday.

The Players’ Union has already commented on the situation.

“The Players’ Union expresses total understanding and solidarity with the Santa Clara squad’s outrage regarding the lack of rest and adequate preparation for the upcoming match against Arouca, after a game with extra time in the Portuguese Cup.

The issue of competitive overload and poor calendar management has been on the agenda of the Players’ Union and FIFPRO, at an international level, for several years, with annual studies indicating the need for measures to protect the physical and mental health and well-being of athletes.

No other sports organization has worked on this matter as much as the Players’ Union, seeking, through all political and institutional means at its disposal, to make this issue a priority for the League, the Federation, and the Government.

It should be noted, moreover, that calendar management is carried out exclusively by the League and decisions on scheduling or postponing matches are regulated between clubs, with, unfortunately, no right for the main actors of the game to intervene or veto decisions that put their health and well-being at risk, increasing the risk of injuries.

Thus, the Players’ Union fully supports the demands of the Santa Clara players, embracing their concerns and welcoming them to this fight for the entire class.

We hope that the League and the clubs involved—Santa Clara and Arouca—will be able to find a solution to this problem, but also that there will be a serious reflection in Portugal on the organization of the calendar and measures to protect players, who are overloaded by: the number of games; lack of rest between matches; travel and continuous periods of concentration without respect for rest or vacation periods.

All these problems jeopardize the professionals and the integrity of the competition.

The Players’ Union also challenges the affected clubs to join this fight in a regular and concerted manner for effective change, and not just react when a problem arises.

The health of the players will always come first and, above any other value, is non-negotiable, and we advocate for strong action from the entire class to defend this right,” reads the official statement issued.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.