Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois slams FIFA scheduling of international fixtures

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has hit out at FIFA by claiming that those responsible for scheduling international fixtures understand "nothing about football".

Since the domestic season began in August, the 24-year-old has made 16 appearances for the Blues and national team Belgium.

In the latest international call-up, Courtois featured in the Red Devils' 8-1 thumping over Estonia, but he was an unused substitute in their friendly with the Netherlands, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The shot-stopper believes that FIFA should not be spreading out the 2018 World Cup qualifiers by playing friendlies in between.

"I don't understand why we haven't played two qualifiers this week," Courtois told La Derniere Heure. "We play in November, we'll play our next game in March and have to again play in June (the final round of World Cup qualifiers for this season).

"Because of that, we're going to lose three weeks of holiday. The person who drew up the fixture list understands nothing about football. We play seasons with more than 60 games, and recovery enables us to avoid injuries."

Meanwhile, Courtois will begin preparations with Chelsea this week ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against Middlesbrough.