Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand have both suggested that extra-time should be SCRAPPED amid the increased demand on elite footballers.
France and Portugal's lethargic quarter-final clash at Euro 2024 on Friday went all the way to a penalty shootout, with extra-time being largely uneventful as neither side went for the jugular. But at the Copa America over in the United States, lawmakers have decided to go straight to penalties throughout the knockout rounds barring the final.
Ex-Manchester United defender Ferdinand says that players could reach 'breaking point' unless football chiefs intervene, as stars at the top level are being asked to play more and more games at a high intensity in a busier calendar. Before France beat Portugal 5-3 in the shootout to book a semi-final clash with Spain, Lineker brought up the topic of extra-time.
"I have to say, though, I do wonder about extra-time these days, with the players. It's at the end of an incredibly hard season of football," the former England striker, who was hosting the BBC's coverage, noted. "They're asked to play so many games of football. "I think it's one of the reasons perhaps at this tournament we've seen some tired-looking footballers.'
Lineker then suggested scrapping extra-time, adding: "If they're asking them to play more football matches, Rio, perhaps they can give them something back by taking away extra-time. Because everybody at home wants to see the penalties once it goes to extra-time anyway!"
Ferdinand was in agreement and warned: "There's going to be a breaking point. The players are going to break. If we produce more competitions and more games the players are going to break, it's not fair on the players I don't think. You have to find a way of taking the minutes away and rather than going to extra-time go straight to penalties."
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France captain Kylian Mbappe even revealed that he came off at half-time of extra-time not because of his broken nose but because he was tired. "I asked to be taken off," Mbappe explained after the win. "At half-time in extra time, I told him that I didn't feel it anymore, that I was too tired."
Only a few hours earlier on Friday, Spain snatched victory in their quarter-final against hosts Germany by scoring a goal in the dying embers of extra-time. Mikel Merino's 119th-minute header provided perhaps the most dramatic moment of the tournament so far and avoided penalties.
Various top-level players and coaches have voiced their concerns regarding player burnout, with next year's revamped Club World Cup coming under fire. The international players' union recently told FIFA to postpone the expanded 32-team competition - which will 'push players beyond their limits' in the summer of 2025 - or face the prospect of legal action.
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