Just as you think football can't get any greedier, just as you think back to when you were younger and saw the sport truly as the beautiful game, just as you think it's great that some traditions are upheld... comes another sad development.
On Monday, it emerged that there will be just one match on Boxing Day this year. For Britons who have often made it their must-watch ahead of soap operas and kids’ cartoons, it’s quite a slap in the face.
The tradition has been abandoned because of football's increasingly busy schedule.
Players are gracing the field more often than ever before, with figures such as Raphael Varane and Rodri lamenting the congestion and the toll it takes.
There must be sympathy for the players.
While they have a reputation for being prima donnas on the field, the vast majority want to spend as much time as possible kicking the ball around. It is their passion, their life.
They are being pushed to the limits because those behind the scenes know that when games are on, the money comes pouring in.
Take the Champions League, for example.
Champions League clubs are being forced to play more matches than ever before
| REUTERSFollowing the infamous Super League plot of 2021 — when 12 of the world’s biggest clubs attempted to form a breakaway league to secure unprecedented financial gain — UEFA decided to revamp the tournament.
That means Europe’s biggest competition is being played more frequently than ever before.
You can now have big games — such as Bayern Munich vs Chelsea, Arsenal vs Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain — without every team needing to navigate a four-team group stage.
Under the old format, there were 125 games played in the tournament. Now, that number is 189 — with teams playing a minimum of eight games instead of six.
Raphael Varane and Rodri have previously lamented the fixture schedule
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In 2023, Varane quit the France national team.
The World Cup winner, contracted to Manchester United at the time, lamented the situation, saying: “The very highest level is like a washing machine. You play all the time and you never stop.
“We have overloaded schedules and play non-stop. Right now, I feel like I’m suffocating and that the player is gobbling up the man.”
In September last year, Rodri responded to a question about players potentially going on strike. He stated: “I think we are close to that.
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Real Madrid have won the Champions League more times than any other club and were heavily involved in the 2021 Super League plot
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“If it keeps this way, it will be a moment that we have no other option, but let’s see.”
So that’s the players. They fear injuries hampering their careers because their bodies are being pushed to the limit.
Those at the highest level, those profiting from the controversy, don’t seem to care.
But it is supporters who make football. They are the reason players are being asked to play more than ever before. Every year, the game grows in popularity.
Yet those in England are being shafted. The decision to have just one match on Boxing Day is merely the latest example.
Already, supporters can’t watch the 3pm. kick-offs. Those abroad can.
Already, fans face paying higher ticket prices for Premier League games compared to followers of clubs in Spain, Germany, France, and Portugal.
Already, they often have to rely on a public transport system that fleeces them out of millions every year.
Football fans are already fleeced by the game they love
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But now, on Boxing Day, football — barring that one game, of course — will be off the agenda.
It comes down to two things: the UEFA competition expansion, which we’ve already touched on, and the decision to move the FA Cup exclusively to weekends.
There’s another reason, however. With the Boxing Day calendar moved, matches will instead take place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
And how broadcasters such as Sky Sports and TNT Sports must be rubbing their hands with glee.
They can treat games that should be reserved for a special occasion as routine instead. That means a 12:30pm kick-off on TNT and a 5:30pm kick-off on Sky.
On the Sunday, two games on Sky — and potentially an extra one on Monday too.
There is still no official announcement, and the news leaking out could, perhaps, trigger a U-turn if fan reactions are negative.
That’s how the Super League plot failed, after all.
Manchester United fans got a game called off against Liverpool in 2021
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Football supporters that year made their voices heard. Protests were everywhere, with the country rallying to keep the Premier League the sacred, unpredictable, ludicrous competition it has always been.
Manchester United fans even got a match against Liverpool called off. Fed up with years of rule from the Glazers, they stormed the field to let the owners know exactly what they thought of their decision.
Similar scenes took place at their Carrington training complex, too.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, manager at the time, was forced to intervene to soothe tensions.
Greed, unfortunately, is rife in football.
This latest twist is another slap in the face for English supporters.