“Reduce the schedule and protect the players” after 100 injuries

Inter CEO Beppe Marotta (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Inter president Beppe Marotta warns the calendar “must be reduced” and calls for a summit of sports authorities to “protect” players from the growing risk of injuries.

The match against Roma kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 7:45 p.m. UK time (6:45 p.m. GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action from today’s five Serie A matches on the Liveblog.

The Nerazzurri will play more matches than any other club apart from Juventus this season, as with Serie A, Champions League, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana they have qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Clubs 2025.

This sparked much controversy, with several leagues and players’ union FIFPro suing FIFA for holding this tournament in the United States without consulting them first.

Inter chief Marotta slams modern football calendar

Piotr Zielinski and Kristjan Asllani are both out of action after being injured while on international duty with Poland and Albania respectively.

“We have to live with the constant stress of so many matches, it becomes difficult for the players to deal with,” Marotta told DAZN.

“There have been around 100 injuries among players who also have international duties and we need to protect their health.

“It’s not an easy situation because we have to sit down at the table and recognize that the timetable needs to be reduced.

“What we need and what we don’t have right now is a single place where everyone involved can meet and discuss it together. There are activities for clubs, for UEFA, for FIFA, and this confrontation has only just begun.

“The number of matches needs to be reduced because the pace of the sport is now so high that it leads to more mistakes and more injuries, much higher than the average we have seen in previous years.”

Football authorities have felt empowered to add more matches now that teams can use five substitutions to rotate more of the squad at their disposal.

So could the key be to simply expand existing squads and use more of these players?

“It is difficult for any club to talk about first and second choice players, because they are co-first choice,” Marotta added.

“We have 23 to 24 players who can play in any competition. The coach then makes his decisions, but today for example our midfield is dictated to us by injuries, so naturally that will limit the choices.