Source:REUTERS/Albert Gea
[Saba Sports News] According to Spanish media reports, the issue of player rest time in La Liga continues to draw attention. Marcelo Vidal of Albacete, representing the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE), has proposed incorporating a 72-hour interval between matches into the rules of the first and second divisions. Under La Liga regulations, teams should have at least 72 hours of rest between the end of one match and the start of the next. However, this rule is not always adhered to in practice, primarily due to the complexity of scheduling. To ensure this condition is met in most cases, the AFE has proposed to La Liga the establishment of a joint committee aimed at monitoring and striving to guarantee a 72-hour interval between every two matches, allowing players adequate rest between La Liga or La Liga 2 games. It is worth noting that FIFA has no specific regulations regarding match intervals. Instead, the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO) has issued a recommendation stating that a full match can lead to extreme muscle fatigue, which may persist for up to 72 hours. The same document also mentions that if the recovery time between two matches is less than 72 hours, the likelihood of the team losing increases. As early as 2023, FIFA discussed forming a new working group to address player welfare issues, including the topic of at least 72 hours of rest, but no formal agreement has been reached to date.