(The Guardian) Pereira tells Premier League to protect clubs in Europe
Vitor Pereira has called on the Premier League to “protect” its clubs by adapting the schedule to help them prosper in Europe, insisting doing so would result in them winning more silverware.
In France, the Ligue de Football Professionel rescheduled Paris Saint-Germain’s recent Ligue 1 matches to provide them more rest to prepare for Champions League knockout fixtures.
Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa on Sunday less than 48 hours after arriving back in the East Midlands from their first-leg draw at Porto, while Villa also played in Bologna on Thursday, winning 3-1.
Pereira referenced how the Portuguese Liga have shifted games to help Porto cope with the schedule. Last month the league approved Sporting’s request to postpone a league game against Tondela in between last 16 matches.
“What they do here, they schedule the game for Sunday but [move it] to Monday and this is completely different,” said the Forest head coach. “It is one more day, they can recover – 24 hours more to recover makes a big difference.
“In my opinion, to protect the teams who are playing in the Europa League and the Conference League especially, and even the Champions League, just one day after is very important to get results. Sometimes it’s important to protect the clubs, to give them the chance to win more titles.”
Forest and Villa could meet in the Europa League semi-finals if both teams prevail in the second legs against Porto and Bologna respectively.
Pereira accepted the schedule is beyond his powers: “If we protect these teams, the teams in the Europa League, Conference League and the Champions League, for sure England can get more titles. For sure, I don’t have any doubts. If you look at PSG, they [LFP] delayed the previous four matches to be in conditions to compete in the league and Champions League. This is what we need to reflect on.”
Vitor Pereira has called on the Premier League to “protect” its clubs by adapting the schedule to help them prosper in Europe, insisting doing so would result in them winning more silverware.
In France, the Ligue de Football Professionel rescheduled Paris Saint-Germain’s recent Ligue 1 matches to provide them more rest to prepare for Champions League knockout fixtures.
Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa on Sunday less than 48 hours after arriving back in the East Midlands from their first-leg draw at Porto, while Villa also played in Bologna on Thursday, winning 3-1.
Pereira referenced how the Portuguese Liga have shifted games to help Porto cope with the schedule. Last month the league approved Sporting’s request to postpone a league game against Tondela in between last 16 matches.
“What they do here, they schedule the game for Sunday but [move it] to Monday and this is completely different,” said the Forest head coach. “It is one more day, they can recover – 24 hours more to recover makes a big difference.
“In my opinion, to protect the teams who are playing in the Europa League and the Conference League especially, and even the Champions League, just one day after is very important to get results. Sometimes it’s important to protect the clubs, to give them the chance to win more titles.”
Forest and Villa could meet in the Europa League semi-finals if both teams prevail in the second legs against Porto and Bologna respectively.
Pereira accepted the schedule is beyond his powers: “If we protect these teams, the teams in the Europa League, Conference League and the Champions League, for sure England can get more titles. For sure, I don’t have any doubts. If you look at PSG, they [LFP] delayed the previous four matches to be in conditions to compete in the league and Champions League. This is what we need to reflect on.”
