Australian football's players union is set to hold talks with the governing body of the A-Leagues over the timing of matches after two players were treated for heatstroke on Saturday.
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Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) wants to meet with the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) to avoid afternoon kick-offs in baking summer conditions.
Two Western United players were treated by medical staff after their 5-0 win away to Canberra United, which started at 3pm on Saturday when temperatures were 35C.
The pair were not - as suggested by Western defender Angie Beard on social media - taken to hospital.
But the PFA have flagged similar concerns in the past and will aim to find a resolution this week.
In a statement the issue flared two weeks ago, PFA co-chief executive Kathryn Gill said: "APL have been responsive on a number of occasions rescheduling matches; however, the consistent feedback from the players is that the 3pm kick-offs in the summer months has regularly posed a risk to their health and safety and undermined the quality of the product.
"We will have further discussions with APL during the week in the hope of achieving an outcome that safeguards the wellbeing of the players and ensures the best possible product on the pitch for fans.
"We have been in touch with both sets of players and we will continue to monitor the health and wellbeing of those adversely impacted over the weekend."
Western Sydney's ALW clash with Newcastle in Blacktown on Saturday was pushed back from 3pm to 5.30pm due to warm weather concerns, with temperatures forecast for 34C.
The Australian Professional Leagues' heat policy calls for matches to be delayed or postponed if the ambient temperature approaches 40C and/or the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) exceeds 28C.
Similar issues were flagged by the coach of Western's ALM side John Aloisi after his side drew 2-2 in a 5pm kick-off against Macarthur in sapping conditions at Campbelltown Stadium.
"Football people who play and coach aren't listened to," Aloisi said, adding the WBGT was just below the point of postponement prior to kick-off.
"They want to make it a good spectacle but you can't do that when players are struggling to run.
"It doesn't invite a high-intensity game, you can't ship the ball as quickly and it's hard to play your style when it's like that."
Canberra coach Njegosh Popovich said the conditions posed a huge challenge and questioned the long-term effects of playing in extreme heat.
"There's smarter people than me who have medical degrees, sports science degrees, who could probably come up with a better solution than the one we have at the moment," he told AAP.
"I don't know the commercially binding elements of it and how that plays in ... some of the players will struggle to get back from this for two weeks."
The APL said its threshold for postponing game's was "conservative" compared to the one set by FIFA and said broadcast requirements and stadium availability were influential on determining kick-off times.
"Player welfare is of the upmost importance and we will work with the PFA and other stakeholders to minimise the risk of an occurrence like the incident on Saturday," the APL said in a statement.
"We continue to work with our stakeholders to monitor all of our policies and processes on an ongoing basis."
Australian Associated Press
