FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino have been accused of acting “without dialogue, without sensitivity and without respect” for players in their staging of the Club World Cup.

The controversial 32-team tournament came to a close on Sunday with Chelsea causing an upset with a 3-0 win over European champions Paris St Germain.

Infantino has hailed the competition hosted in the United States as a success, but concerns have been raised around player welfare, with some matches being played in extreme heat and the tournament providing very limited time for players to rest before preparing for the new season.

Sergio Marchi, the president of world players’ union FIFPro, accused Fifa of choosing to “continue increasing its income at the expense of the players’ bodies and health,” and likened its approach to the “bread and circuses” tactics used by Emperor Nero in ancient Rome and warned there could be no repeat of playing matches in such extreme heat at next summer’s World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

“Despite the fact that the recent Club World Cup generated enthusiasm in many fans and allowed some of the main figures of world football to be seen in the same tournament, FIFPro cannot fail to point out, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnection with the true reality that most footballers in the world are going through,” Marchi said in a statement.

“What was presented as a global football party was nothing more than a fiction staged by Fifa, promoted by its president, without dialogue, without sensitivity and without respect for those who sustain the game with their daily effort.

“The tournament also took place under unacceptable conditions, matches were played in extreme heat and with temperatures that put the physical integrity of the players at risk. This situation must not only be denounced, but must be firmly warned. What happened cannot be repeated under any circumstances at next year’s Fifa World Cup.”

The PA news agency understands no FIFPro representatives were invited to a meeting held by Fifa on Saturday concerning player welfare, where a minimum three-week off-season break was agreed.

It is understood none of the union’s officials were present and therefore the meeting is seen as a charade.

The Club World Cup’s scheduling has been part of a wider, bitter legal dispute between unions and leagues on one hand and Fifa on the other. Unions and leagues insist Fifa has abused a dominant position by failing to adequately consult over football’s international match calendar.