Goalkeeping legend Edwin van der Sar has been speaking in his capacity as vice-chairman of the European Club Association, with Celtic affected.
Neil Lennon’s side kicked off their 2019/20 season on 9th July, just six weeks after lifting the Scottish Cup at the end of May.
Having to play four ties, made up of eight matches, before the end of August just for the honour of competing in the group stages of the competition puts the Hoops at a massive disadvantage compared to teams that can schedule a prolonged period of rest for their players.
Ajax are in a similar situation despite making the semi-finals of the competition last season, entering the qualifying process at the third stage, two rounds later than Celtic.
Van der Sar, who is the chief executive officer of the Eredivisie outfit, thinks mid-tier European clubs are suffering and that UEFA should look to change the process.
As quoted by The Daily Record, he said: “Leading clubs from mid-sized associations, like Celtic, FC Copenhagen or Ajax, should not be solely dependent on the position of their association in the UEFA Country Ranking, but also be rewarded for their own performance, both domestically and in the European club competitions.
“Starting at this stage means that you have to be ready in a very early part of the season, which brings a lot of pressure in many different aspects.
“Some of our players already started this year in the third week of June, but the best international players of our squad started much later as a result of having international duties like the the Nations League, African Cup of Nations and Copa America.”
The former Manchester United shot-stopper is right to suggest it puts a strain clubs on like Celtic, with a summer schedule that should be about building fitness and refreshing squads suddenly turning into a highly-pressurised affair that can make or break a season.
It’s farcical that the Bhoys should have to play a domestic cup final at the end of May and return to pre-season training by mid-June.
It further widens the gap between successful teams from smaller countries and the cash-rich elite who already enjoy advantages that keep clubs like Celtic at arms length.
The people in charge at the Hoops will be hoping that continued pressure from influential figures like van der Sar can begin to address the problem.
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