PFA chief calls Cole Palmer a victim of football’s crowded calendar

Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango has called Chelsea forward Cole Palmer a ‘victim’ of football’s crowded calendar after Palmer withdrew from England’s squad. Speaking at a FIFPRO performance summit in London, Molango described the wider system as ‘sick’ and argued that its demands were affecting players’ ability to represent their national teams. His comments sharpen a dispute over how much rest the schedule can allow: the Premier League says the summer period he wants cannot be fitted into the current calendar.

Palmer was one of five players to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the current international window. The Football Association named Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento as the other four, saying on 21 September that they were ruled out of forthcoming Nations League fixtures because of their respective injury issues. It called up James Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White after the withdrawals.

Why Molango singled out Palmer

Molango told the summit that an England call-up is a source of pride for players. The five withdrawals, he said, should prompt questions about the demands football places on them. ‘When England see five players who need to withdraw when the single most proud moment a player has is to be called up for the national team, you just ask yourself, what’s wrong about the industry?’ he said, according to BBC Sport.

He said Palmer would have played in four consecutive summers had he gone to the World Cup, and attributed the forward’s absence from this England squad to the calendar. ‘He’s missing because he’s a victim of the calendar and that’s something that needs to absolutely trigger the alarm bells,’ Molango said. That is the union chief’s assessment of the cause of Palmer’s absence; the available accounts do not establish it as a medical finding.

Tuchel said Palmer ‘misses too many opportunities’ after the withdrawal, BBC Sport reported. Molango challenged that response, saying the players want to represent England but face physical limits. ‘They love to play for their national team. But unfortunately your body puts a limit to it. You cannot cheat biology,’ he said. Molango also cited recent withdrawals involving Germany’s Kai Havertz, Dutch striker Brian Brobbey and France captain Kylian Mbappe to argue that the concern extends beyond England.

A rest proposal meets a calendar obstacle

Molango proposed a mandatory three-week summer break followed by a three-week ‘retraining’ period each summer. Premier League chief football officer Rebecca Caplehorn said she supported the idea in principle but that the six-week period did not fit the current calendar. ‘Without regulatory change and change to the calendar, it’s not possible for us to deliver that,’ she told the summit, according to BBC Sport. No agreement to introduce Molango’s proposal was reported.

The exchange took place during a FIFPRO and Cleveland Clinic summit scheduled in London from 28 to 30 September. FIFPRO said the meeting would bring together player unions, football organisations, and medical and performance experts to examine workload, competition calendars, health and performance. Its announced speaker list included both Molango and Caplehorn. The event was intended to consider evidence and possible responses; its announcement did not present a finding about Palmer’s individual condition.

A dispute that predates this withdrawal

Molango had raised Palmer’s workload months before this England squad was selected. In May, The Guardian reported his argument that calendar demands had affected Palmer and Phil Foden. Molango said then that Palmer had gone three consecutive summers without a break. The earlier remarks show the PFA’s criticism was already established, while this week’s development is Molango’s response to the latest group of England withdrawals and the Premier League’s answer to his proposed rest period.

The Guardian also reported FIFPRO workload figures showing that seven of the ten players with the most appearances across Europe’s top leagues that season were at English clubs. At that reporting point, Arsenal’s Martín Zubimendi had 67 club and country appearances, while several Premier League players had 64 or 65. Those figures illustrate the volume of games behind the union’s argument, though appearance totals alone do not determine why any individual player missed an England squad.

For the current international window, the FA’s immediate response was to replace two of the five withdrawn senior players. The larger scheduling question remains open. Molango is asking football’s organisers to reserve time both for a break and for retraining; Caplehorn says doing so requires changes beyond the Premier League’s present calendar. Neither the summit reporting nor the organisers’ announcement sets a date for such a change.