Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer has hit out at European governing body UEFA over player workload, especially in connection with national team duties.
"The UEFA fixtures list is madness," Ilzer said after his team's 3-0 victory over Olympique Lyon on Thursday in the Europa League.
Looking at the latest injuries in the Champions League from clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, he suggested that UEFA "may consider statistics on this as well."
PSG lost Ousmane Dembélé and Marquinhos on muscle injuries and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on a ruptured cruciate knee ligament. Barcelona's Dani Olmo and Bayern's Luis Díaz are also sidelined with muscular problems.
Ilzer said that club coaches are trying to manage the players' workload, which, however, is almost impossible because they are questioned as soon as "you rotate a top player out of the team."
His biggest criticism concerned the national team calendar including the Nations League, with Kicker sports magazine saying that 18 Hoffenheim players were on international duty during the last window with four matches per team.
“The focus of the national teams should be on the European Championship and the World Cup. These are the major highlights for the players, they are the major highlights for all national associations. That is what we should be working towards, and that is what we must qualify for," he said.
"We don’t need an artificial Nations League. In my opinion, a Nations League is simply too much for the fixture list to cope with," he said, calling for a thorough review.