European soccer leaders tell UEFA of unhappiness with longer 4-game schedule for national teams

BERLIN (AP) — European soccer federations told UEFA they are not happy with the new extended four-game blocks of international matches that finished this week.

Injured players like Kylian Mbappé missed too many games, Erling Haaland asked to come off in Norway’s fourth match, resources were stretched for coaches in smaller countries and extra demands were made on the time and money of fans and sponsors.

A “disaster,” said one official among multiple federations who spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of a closed-doors UEFA meeting Thursday in Berlin. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential debate.

UEFA said it will gather their views to weigh a submission to FIFA about the 16-day block that combined what used to be separate two-game breaks in September and October.

Still, the four-game early-season block is locked in for four more years on the FIFA-managed calendar for international matches that is finalized through 2030. That year national teams in Europe will play four games between Sept. 23 to Oct. 8. Next year they will be qualifying games for the 2028 European Championship.

Fewer but longer breaks for international games have long been wanted by European clubs seeking to limit disruption to their seasons, and cut long-haul travel for their players from outside the continent.

Still, the past three weeks have not been popular with one Champions League club, whose coach led his national team Croatia for two years including at the 2014 World Cup.

“We now have the issue of not only having the occasional player coming back injured, but also the fact you go two or 2½ weeks without any momentum,” Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said this week. “We’re all starting from scratch now, in a sense.”

Outside of Europe, FIFA has said the longer break allowed time for regional tournaments like the eight-team Arabian Gulf Cup played Sept. 23-Oct. 6 in Saudi Arabia.

FIFA pushed to condense international breaks in 2021 as part of its biennial World Cup proposal, and later updated its calendar for men’s soccer.

The calendar mandates when clubs must release players for international duty, including the World Cup, where FIFA pays hundreds of millions of dollars to clubs worldwide whose players represented their national teams.

After the UEFA meeting Thursday, officials said only Azerbaijan among the 55 member federations spoke out in clear defense of FIFA’s management of the calendar.

The four-game break followed two months after the longest-ever World Cup, the first with 48 teams and where Norway played into July after reaching the quarterfinals.

“For those who play in the Champions League and have had little vacation, it’s more brutal than for the others,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said of the schedule and after substituting Haaland in the second half of a loss Sunday to Portugal.

Haaland faces an intense week with Manchester City, going to Liverpool on Sunday in the Premier League then hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

European national teams next call up players for camps starting Nov. 9 to play two games that complete the Nations League group phase.

AP Sports Writer Ciarán Fahey contributed to this report

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken embraces Norway's Erling Haaland as he leaves the pitch after being substituted during the Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Norway in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)

Slovenia's Erik Janza, left, and Scotland's Ben Gannon-Doak battle for the ball during the Nations League soccer match between Scotland and Slovenia in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday Oct. 6, 2026. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

France's Kylian Mbappe lieas on the ground after he scored and injured himself during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Turkey and France in Izmit, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Norway's Erling Haaland applauds the fans when leaving the pitch after being substituted during the Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Norway in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Friday slammed Russia's request for the extradition from the Netherlands of the president of the International Criminal Court, a Japanese national, and eight other officials of the court based in the European country.

The extradition requests came after Moscow issued warrants for the nine in response to the ICC’s 2023 arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. The Moscow City Court last year sentenced the nine in absentia to prison terms.

A high-ranking Japanese official said Friday that Tokyo has expressed its protest to Moscow over the requests.

“Measures targeting individuals connected to the ICC are unjust and unacceptable,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki told reporters. “We regret that Russia made extradition requests to multiple countries nevertheless.”

Ozaki said Japan would “respond appropriately, including lodging additional protests.”

His comments came after Russia's Prosecutor General's Office on Thursday submitted requests to the Netherlands and a number of other countries for the extradition of the nine ICC staff, including its president, Tomoko Akane.

Moscow has accused the ICC of issuing arrest warrants against Russian citizens in violation of fundamental principles and norms of international law without any evidence, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.

Relations between Japan and Russia have worsened since Putin visited a Pacific Island chain claimed by Japan in August. The Soviet Union captured the islands from Japan in the final days of World War II, leading to the dispute that has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

Japan has also struggled to balance its support for the ICC and ties with the United States, which does not support the court.

Also, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been criticized at home, including for balancing her close alliance with the U.S. with Japan's backing of the Netherlands-based court.

”We have consistently supported the ICC and will continue to do so,” Takaichi told a parliamentary session Friday.

Washington has accused the ICC of overstepping its mandate and has imposed sanctions on Akane and about a dozen other court staffers in retaliation for investigations into Israeli officials over the war in the Gaza Strip and probes into the conduct of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.

The U.S. measures freeze any assets held in U.S. jurisdictions by those sanctioned and prevent court officials and their families from entering the U.S.

FILE - Judge Tomoko Akane walks before delivering the verdict in the Al Hassan case at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday Nov. 20, 2024. (Eva Plevier/Pool Photo via AP, file)