FIFPRO have released a statement, condemning Roma’s treatment of Dutch full-back Rick Karsdop, accusing coach Jose Mourinho of conducting a ‘mobbing campaign’. The 27-year-old was frozen out of the Giallrossi’s squad following their 1-1 draw to Sassuolo with Mourinho claiming that he had betrayed his teammates with his performance before calling on him to “find another club” in the January window.
Karsdop had initially refused to attend the clubs training camp but eventually joined them during their retreat in Portugal ahead of the resumption of the Serie A season.
Professional football players’ union FIFPRO have now released a statement to show their solidarity with Karsdorp and while taking aim at Mourinho:
“FIFPRO strongly condemns AS Roma’s treatment of Rick Karsdorp, who in recent weeks has been the victim of a mobbing campaign.
Karsdorp has been accused in public of being a “traitor”, a hurtful and baseless term that club management has failed to address or apologise for, and fans have repeatedly used to confront him and his family. Furthermore, he has been made the subject of an unjustified disciplinary case.
These acts apparently are a way to deflect from the club’s poor recent performances and aimed to put unjustified pressure on the player. Such behaviour is incompatible with the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
Rick Karsdorp has the full support of both FIFPRO and Dutch players’ union VVCS.”
FIFPRO board member Louis Everard shared his own thoughts on Mourinho and Roma and didn’t hold back:
“It is obviously not the first time that we hear about players being used as scapegoats to deflect the attention from the performance and management of clubs. It is not acceptable for a club to isolate one player and treat him differently from his team-mates.”
The General Secretary of FIFPRO Jonas Baer-Hoffmann also warned that “players are first and foremost employees of their clubs and that, as such, clubs have a duty of care towards them. We call on AS Roma to immediately comply with that duty of care and ensure that Rick Karsdorp is treated fairly, and that his rights are respected.”
