a player ends his career at 22 so as not to play on Saturdays

Aged 22, Swiss player Silvan Wallner, who played for FC Blau-Weiss Linz (Austria), decided to end his career due to his religious beliefs.

His faith took precedence over his passion and his profession as a footballer. Barely two months after signing for FC Blau-Weiss Linz (1^era Austrian division) and only five matches, Silvan Wallner decided to stop everything and end his career at just 22 years old. The Swiss player wishes to devote himself to his religion which he considers incompatible with his profession.

“I don’t want to play football on Saturdays for profit”

“I am a believing Christian and I read the Bible. I make decisions about my life myself. I want to follow Jesus Christ and the biblical day of rest has become important to me,” said Silvan Wallner, who no longer wants to play on Saturdays, in a press release.

This day is considered by some to be a day of complete rest, when the faithful should devote themselves to God. “For me, as a professional, this means that from now on I do not want to play football on Saturdays for profit. This is my personal conviction, which I have come to in recent days,” added the defender.

Trained at FC Zurich, Silvan Wallner was notably Swiss champion in 2022 and played in all of his country’s youth teams. He was even with the Espoirs last September. He finally played his last match last Saturday October 26 in the defeat against Hartberg (2-1).