Football Federation Australia (FFA) has rubbished suggestions it put player safety in jeopardy by allowing an A-League game between Perth Glory and Adelaide United to start in sweltering conditions.

Glory attacker Chris Harold was forced off the pitch with a heat-related illness in the first half, as players battled through severe heat on the hottest January day in Perth in more than 20 years.

The game started with the temperature at 36C and by its conclusion it had cooled by just four degrees.

Adelaide United overcame the searing heat and the in-form Glory to record a vital 2-1 win.

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Perth and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) argued the game should have been pushed back from its 5:30pm (AWST) kick-off time, warning the welfare of players was put at risk.

But head of the A-League, Damien de Bohun, said player safety was never jeopardised.

"We've gone to great lengths to take serious medical advice on heat," he said.

"It's important to note that the FFA's standards are more stringent than FIFA's standards and it's based on medical best practice.

"Medically, the conditions were safe to start the game."

Glory chairman Tony Sage complained that Perth had to play two games in extreme heat in just 72 hours, after beating Melbourne Victory in similar conditions in Geelong on Friday.

But Mr de Bohun rejected the club's argument that the schedule placed the Glory's players under excessive strain.

"That's why you have big squads and rotate players," he said.

"The reality of summer is you play in warmer conditions but it's nothing that's not internationally done.

"There's all sorts of conditions all around the world that footballers play in."

Perth has now asked the FFA to push back the start time of its next home game against Melbourne Victory on January 25 to avoid a repeat of similar sweltering conditions.

That game is due to start at 5pm, but the Glory has requested that be pushed back to 6:30pm.

Mr de Bohun said that would be considered if extremely hot conditions were forecast.

"If the conditions warrant it we'll contemplate it, just as we did for this match," he said.

Concern for players' health

The scheduling of Monday's fixture drew widespread condemnation, including from Perth Glory chairman Tony Sage and the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA).

Mr Sage said both the start time and the fact the game was scheduled just three days after the Glory's previous match was "extremely disappointing".

Perth captain Michael Thwaite said the game should have been delayed.

"We can't be stupid about these things, when you've got players' health risks - you saw with Chris Harold coming off after 20 minutes- it shows some players are going to react differently," he said.

"Ruben Zadkovich also had a fitness test which he failed, he just couldn't recover after the Melbourne game ... but Chris was suffering from heat exhaustion and when a player is going white you've got to take him off.

"It was a bit hard with a three-day turnaround after playing in (Geelong with similar heat)."

PFA chief executive Adam Vivian said the situation was concerning.

"The fact there was a player struck with heat illness was totally unacceptable," he said.

"We need to really look into things and today we'll be speaking to the FFA about some additional measures.

"From my perspective and the players' perspective, we'd like to have seen it pushed back an extra half hour just to allow some additional cooling."

Mr Vivian said there needed to be better contingencies in place for the Glory's next home game.

"We need to have some foresight in this and have those measures in place so we're not left talking about it at the 11th hour," he said.