I never suggested I was a professional athlete and didn’t realise it was a professional athlete’s forum.

I’m a Palace fan on a Palace fan’s forum and would prefer that the beginning of our season not be disrupted.

Surely it’s beyond dispute that Palace will be weaker if it has to go into the opening fixtures without Olise and Mateta who make up two thirds of our attacking unit.

I am pleased that they have made the bigger initial squad & the club have agreed that if selected for the trimmed down version that they can take part - it shows that we are keen on their international development outside of the club (Unlike some other clubs who have decided not to release players for that specific tournament)

It would not be lost on Olise' for example that if today he was a Chelsea player he wouldn't be going to the Olympics.

It would of course solve any availability / potential injury matters for the upcoming domestic season if they are not included in the final squad particularly as its then the French decision (Thierry Henri) & not a case of Palace being difficult about it -

Just to add an observation about the Olympics - (not related to the French squad but to pick up on something YT mentioned earlier)

In Dubai my favourite weekend of the year was always that of the Rugby 7s (1st weekend on December) for some time the USA inclusion was pretty much as an outside inclusion, not quite akin to making up the numbers but in general I am sure you know what I mean -

However, as soon as the Rugby 7s became an Olympic sport the USA squad on the 7s tour took on a completely different look, as big a transformation as you could imagine, top class athletes, (sprinters that looked like they could leave even quick Rugby players for dead) formation coaches had been recruited from overseas & when they played in the next tournament it was clear that they were there do everything they could to represent their nation to the best possible outcome in readiness to compete in the next Olympics / Win medals for the USA.

I understand the point.
It’s just that I’m old school and feel that it’s Crystal Palace FC , not Olise FC or Mateta FC.
Personally I prefer the Alex Ferguson approach who would always put the club first and would often not release players for international duty.
I doubt he would be releasing key players for the Olympics knowing they well miss games for the club as a result.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal have blocked players from being included in the Olympics and these players are’professional athletes’ too.
Why are Palace any different from being able to exercise this right?

I wish our players weren't going but you do make a valid point.

We cannot compete on wages with the top 6 but if they are passionate about playing for their country and likely to be stopped by Moan United or Chelsea then maybe this is a risk worth taking.

One more point

With that logic perhaps we should leave Eze and Wharton out as well to see how we would cope without them too?