NYON, Switzerland (AP) — The European Club Association is refusing to join FIFA talks on creating an international match calendar after another breakdown in their working relationship.
FIFA has invited world soccer stakeholders to a March 5 meeting in Zurich to discuss when clubs must release players for national team matches from 2015 through the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The 200-member group of clubs says chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and general secretary Michele Centenaro declined their invitations.
The ECA believes FIFA packs the schedule with too many international matches, and won’t ensure the salary of players injured on national duty.
Europe’s top clubs will present their own calendar proposal at a Feb. 27-28 meeting in Warsaw, Poland.
