Aston Villa director of football Damian Vidagany has publicly criticized the Premier League for a “mysterious” fixture list that forces the club into two away games in four days while rivals enjoy consecutive home matches.
Aston Villa director of football Damian Vidagany has launched a scathing attack on the Premier League regarding a “mysterious” fixture schedule.
The frustration stems from Villa being required to play two away matches in less than 72 hours, traveling to Arsenal this Tuesday immediately following their weekend victory at Chelsea.
Vidagany questioned the lack of transparency from league officials, noting that certain wealthier clubs have been granted consecutive home fixtures during the same period.
Writing on social media, Vidagany suggested the current scheduling might offer an unfair advantage to specific teams.
He stated, “The fact is that, willing or not this makes more convenient the fixtures for certain clubs that are not travelling on this very busy Christmas period.”
While acknowledging that fatigue is no excuse for poor performance, he emphasized that the imbalance in recovery time is “obvious” and warned against the league becoming a “political territory.”
In response, Premier League sources defended the calendar, citing the complexities of modern scheduling.
They pointed out that there is no “hard and fast rule” for the order of matches and that the expansion of European competitions has further compressed the available dates.
Despite these explanations, Villa manager Unai Emery remains confused by the quirk that sees his side face Arsenal twice before they have even played Nottingham Forest once this season.