FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he expects the tournament to be in the winter to avoid playing in the sweltering Doha heat during June and July.

But Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association and honorary president of the international players' union FIFPro, warned that such a move could leave fans disenchanted.

England's FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson has also expressed his disappointment that the change is being mooted.

Taylor told Press Association Sport: "I think it will be in Qatar's interest to make sure it's played in the summer and that they air-condition the stadiums as much as possible.

"If they move it to the winter it's going to be too disruptive.

"Our clubs' football so depends on it being a winter game so to suddenly have a World Cup in the winter would cause such big problems in Europe, FIFA's biggest confederation.

"You have got to be careful you don't disenchant supporters. International football is the icing on the cake and not the main ingredient and FIFA need to be very careful they do not upset that pattern."

Thompson said a move to the winter should only take place if there is medical evidence that players would be at risk from the high temperatures, which can reach more than 50 degrees Celsius in the summer.

Thompson told the BBC: "This should be a proper discussion and it is disappointing to me that people are talking about moving the tournament when Qatar bid to stage it at a certain time.

"It was never discussed at any [executive committee] meeting. At the end of the day, people are bidding for the World Cup at the appropriate time. The bidding document is clear about when it should be.

"We may believe that there is a risk but until we are presented with a medical report which shows clearly that people's health is at risk, until we get something concrete, then we shouldn't move it."

Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Asian confederation president who is from Qatar, has also dismissed Blatter's suggestion.

Bin Hammam said: "I'm really not very impressed by these opinions to distribute the game over the Gulf or change the time from July to January.

"It's actually premature, you know. It's people's opinions and they're just discussing it on no basis or no ground."

Blatter yesterday said there was a more than 50% chance the 2022 World Cup in Qatar would be played during the winter - and insisted the fact many European leagues had winter breaks already would make it possible.

Blatter said: "This is possible because in the basic documents of the bid it is said that the FIFA executive committee can at any time make some amendments to the basic conditions.

"But if you ask me the percentage to play in winter it is definitely over 50%. It means this is more than just a probability to play in winter time because also for the spectacle, for the football and to protect footballers and also spectators, finally."

UEFA president Michel Platini this week added fuel to the fire by suggesting the 2022 tournament should be played across the whole of the Arabian Gulf in response to suggestions that Qatar is too small to host 32 teams.

But Bin Hammam also ruled out exploring the option of Qatar co-hosting the tournament with its neighbours.