Big European clubs with big money have already announced they would refuse FIFA's proposed regulation to field a maximum of five foreign players per team at a time during a soccer game.
The G-14, the group of 18 of the mightiest European soccer clubs, claims the proposal endorsed by Sepp Blatter and the World soccer players' union FIFPro, would be illegal to impose on clubs located in the European Union.
"This is totally illegal and it will be challenged by the clubs," said the G-14 chairman, Arsenal's David Dein of the so-called 6:5 formula.
"If FIFA want to light another fire then so be it, but this
will be a very hot fire. I hope this idea does not go any further."
Legally speaking, Dein is right. Should FIFA pass the said regulation, the European Union-based clubs would take the governing soccer body to a EU court and probably win. In the EU there is a freedom of movement for the work force, freedom of hiring people and freedom of enterprise.
Still, FIFA and UEFA, who see eye to eye with Blatter's organization on this matter, do not have to put up with G-14. They could easily stop them from competing in the competitions organized under their control and suspend them from the UEFA's Champions' League and the UEFA Cup if they fail to implement the 6+5 formula proposed by Blatter. They could also ban the players involved from taking part in international
Such a move by the governing bodies would be ill-advised. The G-14 and other big clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham or Atletico Madrid, have a couple of aces up their sleeves. More than a couple, actually. The 30 or so big EU clubs currently employ some 600 of the world's top footballers and their civil contracts would stand up in any court even if the clubs themselves are kicked out of official FIFA
With such a first class work force and with tens of millions of supporters around the world, the top clubs may decide they do not need FIFA or UEFA any more at all. The clubs may get together and set up their own self-governed, closed-type Super League not unlike the NBA in basketball.
FIFA and UEFA would then surely order the national FAs to remove the offending clubs from their national competitions. Should Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern, Real Madrid or Milan defect from the official governing bodies' international club competitions, FIFA and UEFA would attempt to bring them back by denying them participation in the lucrative Premier League, Bundesliga, Primera División or Serie A.
The clubs, bound by multimillion contracts to broadcasters, would certainly want to stay in their national championships, because these leagues guarantee huge revenues and because the clubs' fans
Then the hot potatoes would be thrown into the hands of the national FAs' leaders: would they obey FIFA and UEFA by kicking out their finest clubs from their national football leagues, or would they oppose the international governing bodies and risk exclusion from
At that point, the true power of the wealthiest clubs would come into the fore: G-14 could step in and announce the total overhaul of the professional soccer pyramid.
The G-14 would now organize not only the closed Super League,
This scenario is utterly feasible. Over the past 15 years the EU and consequently soccer's governing bodies have been giving more
The players' age limit for going abroad was declared illegal and the national FAs had to abandon it, if they wanted to remain under FIFA's and UEFA's wing. Foreign players' quotas have been expanded as the definition of what is foreign was relaxed time and time again. Now a comparatively small number of clubs have most of the talented players on their payrolls, and whoever has the top players inevitably attracts the biggest TV deals and the largest chunk of sponsorships. From there to having your own competitions is but a small step.
Now a comparatively small number of clubs have most of the talented players on their payrolls, and whoever has the top players inevitably attracts the biggest TV deals and the largest chunk of sponsorships.
The EU defends their position regarding professional sports by the basic principles of the market economy: the owners have the right to compete in a free market, the workers have the right to be employed throughout EU territory.
Sadly, the unchecked right of the club owners to compete among themselves is in direct conflict with the sporting events they compete in. In soccer and all other sports it is the athletes who are supposed to be competing, and for the competition to be appealing to the public, there has to be a certain amount of equality between the competitors and uncertainty as to the outcome. If these elements are absent, the essence of sporting competitions will be lost.
Today, extremely wealthy tycoons, not all of them enthusiastic about the game itself, enjoy all the legal protection from EU laws. Their rights to compete and create profits are paramount. But, if no exception is made to accommodate the special characteristics and needs of the soccer competitions, the sport itself, as a worldwide entertainment for billions, will die out. Most likely, it will be replaced by a Hollywood-like show business with plenty of stars but poor scripts and predictable endings.
Someone should tell the EU lawmakers of the damage their way of understanding pro-sports will cause to the game itself and so many who love it.
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