FIFA accuse players' union of 'grandstanding' and 'blackmail' in forceful defence of Club World Cup - after claims Gianni Infantino was 'turning a blind eye to players' needs

FIFA has launched a stinging rebuke of FIFPro, world players' union, accusing the organisation of 'grandstanding', 'blackmail' and 'operating in opacity' over their financial accounts. 

The remarkable statement from the sport's top governing body indicted FIFPro for its 'series of personal and disrespectful attacks' and claimed its criticisms of FIFA suggest their leadership 'does not really care about the players'. 

It marks a deterioration in relations between the two bodies that have been at odds amid the ever increasing football calendar and issues over player welfare. 

'FIFPRO has chosen to pursue a path of public confrontation driven by artificial PR battles - which have nothing to do with protecting the welfare of professional players but rather aim to preserve their own personal positions and interests,' said a FIFA spokesman on Friday evening. 

'The global football community deserves better. Players deserve better.' 

FIFA's lambast of the organisation which represents 66,000 men's and women's players around the world, followed claims by Alex Phillips, the general secretary of FIFPro, that stars are worried about potential backlash from clubs and governing bodies. 

FIFPro believes that FIFA has adopted an 'autocratic' approach to its governance under president Gianni Infantino and accused the body of ignoring players' needs. 

'It is unacceptable for an organisation that claims global leadership to turn a blind eye to the basic needs of the players,' said FIFPro following a meeting of 58 player unions in Amsterdam on Friday.

'One clear example of this disconnect was the recent Club World Cup, celebrated by president Infantino despite being held under conditions that were extreme and inappropriate for any human being, demonstrating a troubling insensitivity to human rights, even when it concerns elite athletes.' 

Players have raised concerns about their lack of rest, caused by the number of matches they are required to play, which has only increased with the introduction of the revamped Club World Cup this summer. 

Chelsea were crowned winners of the tournament on July 13 after beating Paris Saint-Germain in a final which took place just 35 days before the start of their Premier League campaign. 

Ahead of the final of the competition, FIFA held a meeting to address concerns over player welfare and a minimum three-week off-season break was agreed. However, it is understood than no FIFPro representatives were invited and it has therefore been seen as a charade by the organisation. 

Though, FIFA insist that the measures agreed at the gathering, which also included a mandatory minimum 72 hours of rest between matches, prove their seriousness to address concerns and 'go beyond what FIFPRO has been pretending to be asking for'. 

'Instead of welcoming these unprecedented announcements that benefit players all around the world, FIFPRO has responded with a series of personal and disrespectful attacks,' A FIFA spokesman continued.

'This approach reveals a lot about FIFPRO priorities. It suggests that their leadership does not really care about the players, but rather about internal political fights and their image. 

'FIFA’s proposed reforms are about impacting genuine change to support players and are far more important than preserving FIFPRO’s perceived image.

'FIFPRO, regrettably, has consistently refused to engage constructively in these efforts. Instead of contributing meaningfully, they have opted for theatrical denunciations, prioritising media headlines over measurable progress for the players they claim to represent.'

Earlier this month, FIFPro president Sergio Marchi accused FIFA of choosing to 'continue increasing its income at the expense of the players' bodies and health', likened its approach to the 'bread and circuses' tactics used by Emperor Nero in ancient Rome and warned there could be no repeat of playing matches in such extreme heat at next summer's World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. 

On Friday, FIFA cited 'the introduction of five substitutions' and 'concussion substitutes' among other 'wide-ranging measures' it claims has better supported players, claiming these to be more substantive that anything achieved by FIFPro. 

'These are not vague promises or grandstanding but are real and tangible actions,' added the FIFA spokesman. 

'As FIFPRO is interested in addressing matters such as good governance, maybe they would want to consider publishing their own statutes and releasing transparent annual accounts, to ensure that what is being preached is also being practiced. 

'Let us be clear: you cannot preach transparency while operating in opacity. The reality is this: FIFA remains firmly committed to placing players at the core of football’s future, not just in words, but through concrete regulation and reform. 

'FIFA invites all genuine representatives of players to join us in that work - not by attacking from the sidelines, but by participating in transparent, solution-focused dialogue. 

'Therefore, FIFA invites FIFPRO to return to the negotiating table, once they have stopped their blackmail and withdrawn their complaints, and once they have published their statutes, their full financial reports (including all their sources of income, the detailed intellectual property rights of the players they claim to own, and the funding one of their regional divisions receives from some football organisations), and the full list of individual members they claim to represent.'