A leading sleep expert says use of sleeping tablets is “rife” in football following Dele Alli’s revelation of addiction and has called for more education in the game.
Alli laid bare his struggles in an emotional interview with Gary Neville, where he also spoke of suffering sexual abuse as a child and revealed he had undergone a stint in rehab to battle his problems.
The Everton midfielder is the latest player to suggest it is a common problem in the game after former Football League defender Ryan Cresswell opened up on his troubles to the PA news agency last year, saying it was a “big issue” among his peers.
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Sleep expert James Wilson, who has worked at West Ham, Rotherham and Lincoln, agrees it is a concern but said the pills are counter-productive for good sleep.
“You hear stories from players and members of staff that say, ‘You should go and work with this club because every single first-team player is taking sleeping pills every single night’,” he told PA.
“They are not generally good for your sleep and they are not good for recovery so that is why they are not a good idea in football. The fact they are addictive is the cherry on the cake in saying why we should not be using sleeping pills, especially as a first line of defence.
“In society in general we don’t understand the use of sleeping pills. The use is more rife in football because the job itself contributes to poor sleep, the night after a midweek game in particular footballers find it harder to sleep.
“There are two issues, one is which Dele has highlighted is that they can be addictive, depending on what type of pill it is.
“But also the sleeping tablet doesn’t give you sleep, it knocks you out. Sleeping pills impact on REM sleep and that is the stage where you go through an overnight counselling session, where your brain files the information from the day before.
“Without that REM sleep, the sleeping pill without him knowing will have contributed to him not being able deal with his mental health issues he was living with.”
Wilson attributes no blame to club doctors for prescribing sleeping pills, citing a lack of training, and says more education and a cultural change is needed across football.
“It is about education, we need to be educating players younger about sleep and we need to support players around their mental health,” he said.
“Often poor sleep can be caused by things going on in the players’ lives and I think within men’s football in particular we are not great at supporting men’s feelings. There needs to be more done there.
“There needs to be better-trained staff. It is more about nutrionisits, physios, or sports therapists having a better understanding of sleep so they can advise better.
“There also needs to be a cultural change. If senior and successful players are taking them then younger players look up to them and it becomes a myth.
“It is a better education, it is a better access to good sleep alternatives and that is for both players and staff.
“The problem in football is that we approach sleep like we approach training: the harder I try the better I get. If I put X, Y, Z in, I’ll get X, Y, Z out but sleep is not like that.
“It is about being in the right physiological state, dropping the heart rate, dropping core temperature. It is about being emotionally and physically secure. Natures of the job cannot create that. The more we accept that, the better our sleep will be.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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