Premier League leaders Arsenal have successfully applied for their game at Everton to be played a day earlier in an effort to avoid playing two fixtures in three days over Christmas.
The Gunners had applied for the Toffees game – which was due to be played at 2pm on Sunday 21 December, to be moved to an 8pm kick off on Saturday 20 December.
The north Londoners were at risk of a swift turnaround from the game on Merseyside to their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace, due to be played on 23 December.
Officials have faced a scheduling nightmare over Christmas, with the cup tie originally set to take place on 16 December before Palace successfully moved the game a week ahead as they had faced the prospect of playing three times in five days.
Arsenal told the Premier League they wanted to play the Everton game on the Saturday night to give Mikel Arteta’s side additional time to recover for the Palace match.
And the top flight have granted the leaders their wish, with the game now set to be played at 8pm on December 20.
Arsenal have successfully applied for their game at Everton to be moved
Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders faced a nightmare turnaround over Christmas
Responding to the EFL’s decision to move the date for the cup quarter final after Palace’s request, Arteta urged the Premier League to consider the same move.
‘Hopefully they will move our Premier League match, because to play two days later doesn’t make any sense.
‘So now we decide the date [for the EFL Cup match] I am sure they will change the Premier League [match] as well.’
Arsenal’s move follows Daily Mail Sport’s report that FIFA are pledging to abolish rapid turnarounds between matches that severely threaten player welfare by proposing a mandatory 72-hour break.
The move would wreak havoc with the schedule for clubs who feature in the Europa or Conference League but comes amid widespread concern over workloads across a season.
FIFA say they met with 30 players’ unions at a summit in Morocco, although that did not include world representatives for professionals FIFPRO, who claimed the organisation was promoting ‘fake unions’.
Ideas on how to aid players, including the three-day rest period, are pencilled for further consideration and FIFA cannot take unilateral decisions without agreement from other relevant parties.
No changes would come into effect until the new International Match Calendar, which is due in 2031. Discussions around alterations to the calendar are currently ongoing. The 72-hour break has been a recommendation for decades without ever being enforceable.
Despite grievances over the process of the debate and negotiation around law changes, the specifics of mandated rest will be viewed as a positive step for Premier League sides, who have long advocated for an easing of the schedule.
FIFA are looking to propose a mandatory rest period between games to improve player welfare
Since the 2022-23 season, Manchester United have played 46 matches without the luxury of three days’ rest – mostly between European nights and a Premier League fixture.
Chelsea had a run at the end of last year that saw four out of five weeks taken up by this issue, the worst a 62-hour turnaround from a Thursday against Djurgardens until a midday kick-off away at Newcastle United on the following Sunday.
It’s an issue that has become more prevalent in recent years, while Manchester City were handed a 46-hour gap over Christmas in the 2019-20 season, writing a complaint to league officials. Jurgen Klopp called that festive scheduling a ‘crime’ and there has been noticeably improvement since.
Ex-Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti slammed the lack of rest afforded to players last season, in comments that would have raised eyebrows among his Premier League counterparts.
Spanish teams are regularly cited as being given more rest by La Liga before Champions League matches but Real are statistically one of the worst affected.
Meanwhile, FIFA are organising a $20million fund to provide support to players who have struggled to claim full salaries from clubs in financial trouble.
