Maheta Molango, chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association, has warned of player protest amid growing unhappiness over the “unsustainable” increase in added time. Molango, who criticised a lack of consultation from governing bodies on the matter, claimed football was “sleepwalking into a disaster” after referees in competitions around the world were instructed to measure time lost to stoppages more accurately. This led to Arsenal and Manchester City playing 13 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the Community Shield last Sunday and has drawn criticism from the Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane, who says a greater workload risks pushing players to breaking point. “What we’re saying to the authorities is that you’re bringing it to an extreme,” Molango said. “It’s not going to be a question of the union saying: ‘Do this or that.’ It’s players themselves who are saying to us: ‘Let’s do something.’ It’s not just Varane. It’s a lot of players. Managers will tell you the same. It’s not sustainable and if you don’t do something we’re going to be in trouble.” More added time was seen during the men’s World Cup last year. But Molango said a one-month tournament was not comparable to the demands of a league season and gave a pointed response after being asked whether players could resort to strike action. “Varane has decided to stop playing for the national team,” he said. “This would never have happened 20 years ago. Someone who would have been the next captain of the French national team says: ‘I’m not going to play.’ If Varane does that other people will follow suit.” Many players have been in touch with Molango to express concern since the game between Arsenal and City. “There have been a significant number, to the point of having people right after this weekend’s final contacting me within hours of the end of the game,” Molango said. “If you add those minutes, then by Christmas you have played five more games on top of the 70 you already play.” Research by Fifpro shows Marcus Rashford has played twice as many minutes as Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard did when they were the same age as the United forward. Molango said there was also a mental toll on players. “People then say: ‘Let’s talk about the sleeping pills players take,’ but this is a result of that. If I play an international game on the Thursday in Bolivia and then I play at Birmingham on Saturday, how do I do that? I need to travel for 24 hours, get some sleep somehow and play on Saturday.”