Manchester City midfielder Rodri said on Tuesday that players were “close” to taking strike action over their increased workload.
The Spain midfielder played 63 competitive games for club and country last season, and featured for 6,107 minutes between July 2023 and July 2024, including pre-season friendlies.
He spoke out a day after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson said players were not being listened to and that no-one was close to a solution to fixture congestion.
A recent report said a player welfare ‘red line’ was a maximum of between 50 and 60 matches per season, depending on a player’s age.
But is strike action likely? Is it even possible? What are the legalities behind it all?
BBC Sport has taken a look at some of the questions.
A recent study of player workload by the CIES Football Observatory – a research group at the International Centre for Sports Studies – suggested most clubs were not playing more matches per season than they were 12 years ago.
The report said only 0.31% of players featured in 61 or more games; another 1.8% played 51-60 games; and another 6.8% played 41-50 games a season.
It found that between 2012 and 2024, the average number of fixtures per club per season was just over 40, with about 5% of clubs playing 60 or more games per season.
It looked at the workloads of between 18,000 and 21,000 professional footballers across 40 leagues over 12 years, finding an average of 22.7 matches per player. Minutes played has remained largely stable.
Southampton manager Russell Martin said he “didn’t think” his players were interested in striking after their promotion to the Premier League.
He said: “We’ve gone from 50 games to 38 and a couple of cup games so I think our lads will be delighted.”
But he did add: “I think something’s going to give at some point. I think that will be that the quality will be diluted at the top level.
“The top players… you’ll see less of them because of injuries, so I think he [Rodri] has a very good point and I think it needs to be looked at – the welfare of the guys playing internationals and the Champions League.”
Ross Meadows, head of employment at law firm Oury Clark, said: “In practice, I think this will be a last resort if co-ordinated through the Professional Footballers’ Association or Fifpro as there are significant legal hurdles to overcome to have a lawful strike, including a ballot to all members and notice to the Premier League clubs.
“The PFA, for example, typically seeks to resolve disputes through negotiations rather than strikes. Historically, football players have avoided strike action in favour of collective bargaining and pressure through their union.”
Former England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart said on BBC Radio 5 Live that Rodri and Alisson were “just speaking from their hearts”.
“Two players there that are going to speak honestly,” he said. “They’re not rash guys, they’re not guys who sensationalise everything. I’m sure they just answered questions.
“Rodri, in particular, was asked whether they’re close to going on strike. I don’t think in the forefront of his mind was thinking ‘you know what we are up to… that is actually the plan’.
“He is just saying that at some point they’re going to have to stand up for themselves because it is a lot of football.”
Ross Meadows, head of employment at law firm Oury Clark:
“Striking is slightly more complex under UK employment law. Provided certain legal requirements are met, players could strike and can’t legally be forced to play. Football clubs could, however, decide to not pay them during strike action or sue them for breach of contract – the latter being unlikely in practice.
“If the strike does not meet the legal requirements, players could be disciplined or even sacked.
“Realistically, this will not happen in practice. For example, I cannot imagine Manchester City sacking a player of Rodri’s calibre and cost, which would allow a club like Real Madrid to potentially sign him up on a free transfer. It is more likely the clubs would back the players.”
Ross Meadows, head of employment at law firm Oury Clark:
“Typically, the contracts will not have specific provisions allowing for strike action, withdrawing labour or refusing to play – and therefore it could be a breach of contract unless there is a legal justifiable reason.
“The contracts are likely to have clauses related to rest periods and recovery between matches. These are normally linked to Fifa and Uefa regulations.”
Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango on BBC Radio 5 Live:
“We need to now define what this may look like.
“We want to give priority to our domestic competitions. This is the bread and butter of our players.
“The problem is more international competition, especially the national team competition, for example. Or this new format of Club World Cup, which is happening in the summer, so I don’t think the focus is forcibly on domestic competitions.
“If the players feel that we need to take further action – then I think we will.”
BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone:
“Strike action has been threatened many times in the modern game but rarely has it actually happened – and nothing on the scale envisaged.
“The issue here is which games would be targeted – Premier League? EFL Cup? Champions League?
“And while Rodri – at the top of his profession – has a burnout issue; a player at a Premier League club that doesn’t qualify for Europe and gets knocked out in the first available round of both domestic competitions only has a maximum 40 games to play.
“That disparity makes consensus among all players appear difficult to reach – and it is not entirely clear what the PFA’s plan is, even if their legal action is successful.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin said: “It’s relentless and they don’t really have much of a life outside of football, so I suggest it’s probably not very healthy – which is why a lot get to the end and there are big stats on people struggling.
“There’ll be loads of people who’ll be thinking just get on with it, you play football for a living – but it’s really tough to play at the intensity they play at for the amount they’re being asked to.”
Joe Hart told BBC Radio 5 live: “There’s no secret to it. It’s hard work. You have to really dedicate yourself to rest.
“If you try to cut corners and try to live an extra life as well as being a top footballer, you’re going to get found out.
“At the moment, I have no doubt it [the schedule] looks daunting. That’s high-end football and that’s the qualities that are required to be in those squads.
“There’s no right answer because you need to tell the truth and you need to look after your body but then you also need to be realistic because someone else is chomping at the bit to get in your place.”
BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone: “Rodri wasn’t asked the question on Tuesday, but I wonder if he would be willing to take a 25% pay cut to allow his workload to be cut by 25%?
“Or would he argue that because the games – in theory – were better, they would be worth more?”
Ross Meadows, head of employment at law firm Oury Clark:
“Players could bring legal action against their employer if player safety is an issue. For example, if they believe that the volume of games is breaching health and safety regulations or other contractual obligations related to rest and recovery.
“They could also raise concerns under health and safety law, especially if the increased workload is leading to injury risks.
“They could also challenge the increase in games under the Working Time Regulations 1998, which provide for adequate rest period and limits on working hours, albeit these regulations are not typically applied to professional athletes.
“They could take less drastic forms of protest such as wearing armbands and displaying messages on their shirts to raise awareness of their concerns about their schedule.
“Whilst such actions could lead to disciplinary action by their club or the league, they may not, provided they do not interfere with their core obligations of playing.”
Rodri certainly got the BBC audience talking.
The highest rated of 1,600 reader comments on the story was from ‘Witsend56’. It read: “This just confirms that footballers live in a different world. Last week it was a player who stated: ‘What other job do you have to take abuse?’
“Well try working in a shop or school or a prison or hospital or the police. Just some of the jobs that get abused every day both physical and verbal. Now they complain about the number of games they have to play. Isn’t that why teams have huge squads?”
