'You cannot cheat biology': PFA chief blasts 'sick' system that forced Cole Palmer out of England squad
Cole Palmer is the "victim" of a "sick" system that is asking too much of footballers, Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Maheta Molango has declared, after the Chelsea forward withdrew from the recent England squad for "load management".
Palmer was one of five players to pull out of Thomas Tuchel's squad ahead of the latest international window, joining Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento — a wave of withdrawals Molango believes should set off alarm bells across the entire game.
'You cannot cheat biology'
"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?" Molango said at the Fifpro performance summit in London.
"You see people like Cole Palmer, someone who would have played four consecutive summers in a row had he gone to the World Cup, and you wonder why is he missing? He's missing because he's a victim of the calendar and that's something that needs to absolutely trigger the alarm bells."
Tuchel appeared to take a harder line, saying the forward "misses too many opportunities" in response to Palmer's withdrawal. Molango sharply criticised that stance and defended the players' commitment to their country.
"They love to play for England. They love to play for their national team. But unfortunately your body puts a limit to it. You cannot cheat biology," the PFA chief said.
A problem far beyond England
Molango stressed the crisis is not confined to England players, pointing to recent withdrawals from other European squads, including Germany's Kai Havertz, Dutch striker Brian Brobbey and France captain Kylian Mbappe.
"Is that really the football that we want? Is it the football where the people who make us dream just cannot perform? For me it's very worrying."
"What we've seen over the last few years is a system that's sick, that's ill, because it ultimately revolves around obtaining votes and power consolidation," he added.
The PFA and global players' union Fifpro have repeatedly warned about the impact of an increasingly congested calendar on player welfare, and Molango argued the mounting list of high-profile withdrawals is the proof.
Mandatory rest demanded — but the Premier League says the calendar won't allow it
Molango wants to see a mandatory three-week summer break for players, followed by a three-week "retraining" period every summer.
Premier League chief football officer Rebecca Caplehorn said she was supportive of the proposal in theory, but insisted it cannot be delivered under the current schedule.
"It's something we're really supportive of, conceptually, but the challenge is that it just doesn't fit into the current calendar," Caplehorn said. "There's always something that's preventing us having that six-week gap that we want. Without regulatory change and change to the calendar, it's not possible for us to deliver that."