Newcastle United conclude their Premier League season on May 19 when they visit Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
But the football season itself does not end for the “magpies” after the Brentford meeting, even though they are out of all domestic and international cups. The club management has booked two practice matches against Tottenham and the A-League All-Stars three days later – in Australia.
The player group is not happy with that decision.
A source close to the players’ group tells the English newspaper Daily Mail that several in the players’ group are “furious” at the decision. It is believed that the health of the players is not a priority, as the team must fly to the other side of the world and play a training match three days after the end of the Premier League season.
Several of the players who will play at the EC this summer must have planned to recharge their batteries in the current week before the national teams gather and recharge for the summer championships.
According to the newspaper, the reason why the club has booked the training matches is because it receives three million pounds (40.8 million kroner) for its participation, and that it is seen as an excellent opportunity to grow in the Australian and Asian markets.
However, this may be the first and only time. The English Football Association, the FA, is developing a set of regulations that will ban long-haul flights in connection with the completed Premier League season. A set of regulations that Newcastle’s players’ group saw as “very welcome” according to the Daily Mail.
Newcastle are in seventh place in the Premier League.
