Dai the Swansea Eagle
28-06-2000, 05:46 PM
Euro proposal to scrap fees sparks outcry
By Peter Ferguson
World football faces a seismic shake-up to dwarf even the Bosman ruling with a revolutionary demand that players be allowed to switch clubs as and when they like despite being under contract.
One leading Premiership chairman has warned that the plan amounts to 'a recipe for anarchy', while another voiced fears that the youth policy which underpins the English game would not survive.
But the European Commission is adamant the current system involving transfer fees paid by one club to another will have to be scrapped, and has warned FIFA to come up with an acceptable alternative soon or expect to come under heavy fire from Brussels' red-tape army.
The landmark Bosman decision three years ago, when players won the right to leave at the end of their contract without their club demanding a fee, shook the game worldwide and led to such soaring salaries as Steve McManaman's £60,000-a-week at Real Madrid.
But the concept of losing any player from their team, irrespective of how long he has on his contract remaining with some kind of compensation structure in place, will fill most clubs with dread - and not just the
Champions League high-flyers with a host of stars to protect.
As agent Hayden Evans, whose roster includes Leeds midfielder David Batty, pointed
out: 'It's likely to be the smaller clubs who suffer - many are known as selling clubs, it's how they keep going and they are going to run into big problems.'
FIFA has so far failed to come up with the alternative that Brussels is seeking - involving a payment the EC sees as recompense for time and money invested in the player, rather than a sometimes exorbitant transfer fee that might restrict the player's chances of a desired move.
But the Commission claimed yesterday that if there was no response forthcoming, FIFA's current transfer system would be 'struck down' by the end of the year - and players left under no legal obligation to adhere to
their contracts under European law.
Bradford City chairman Geoffrey Richmond claimed: 'It sounds like a recipe for anarchy but then none of the madness that comes out of Brussels surprises me anymore. They should stick to the size of sausages and the shape of bananas, and let the rest of us get on with life in the real world.'
Richmond has hauled Bradford into the
Premiership on a relative shoestring.
Bigger, more established top-flight clubs might expect to be the cherry-pickers rather than the picked, but there is an underlying fear that sweeping away the present
system would undermine youth policies so badly it would make it an economic
nonsense to pursue such schemes.
Manchester United, Leeds and Liverpool have poured millions into the sophisticated youth set-ups that produced David Beckham, Harry Kewell and Steven Gerrard, but it is doubtful any 'compensation' could have made good their loss under relaxed regulations.
One Premiership chairman, who preferred not to be named, said: 'There would be no real incentive for seeking out and developing your own talent.
'What would be the point in working hard and spending a lot of money on bringing the next generation through when you could just go
out, pick off a chosen player and pay his club some compensation instead? It's hard to see how English football, at both club and international level, would benefit.'
Agents might appear to be among those who would benefit. Indeed, Brendan Batson of the players' union, the Professional Footballers' Association, said: 'I can see certain people who have a vested interest relishing the chance to move play-ers around.
'This is the sting in the tail after Bosman. We are rightly proud of our 92-club structure and that must be maintained.'
However, Jonathan Barnett, who acts for Keiron Dyer and Shaka Hislop among others, shares Batson's fears for the make-up of the English game. He said: 'The big clubs will have a field day but it could be disastrous for lower clubs.'
Managers' Association chief John Barnwell sees no advantage for his members either,
saying: 'The manager is already under pressure and this will make it worse.
Football should be treated as a special case by the EC.'
Fat chance. Brussels spokesperson Amelia Torres spelt it out: 'What we are doing is
warning FIFA that unless it comes up with new proposals on the transfer rules, the Commission will take a negative decision on the existing ones. It would mean the FIFA system would no longer be legal.'
By Peter Ferguson
World football faces a seismic shake-up to dwarf even the Bosman ruling with a revolutionary demand that players be allowed to switch clubs as and when they like despite being under contract.
One leading Premiership chairman has warned that the plan amounts to 'a recipe for anarchy', while another voiced fears that the youth policy which underpins the English game would not survive.
But the European Commission is adamant the current system involving transfer fees paid by one club to another will have to be scrapped, and has warned FIFA to come up with an acceptable alternative soon or expect to come under heavy fire from Brussels' red-tape army.
The landmark Bosman decision three years ago, when players won the right to leave at the end of their contract without their club demanding a fee, shook the game worldwide and led to such soaring salaries as Steve McManaman's £60,000-a-week at Real Madrid.
But the concept of losing any player from their team, irrespective of how long he has on his contract remaining with some kind of compensation structure in place, will fill most clubs with dread - and not just the
Champions League high-flyers with a host of stars to protect.
As agent Hayden Evans, whose roster includes Leeds midfielder David Batty, pointed
out: 'It's likely to be the smaller clubs who suffer - many are known as selling clubs, it's how they keep going and they are going to run into big problems.'
FIFA has so far failed to come up with the alternative that Brussels is seeking - involving a payment the EC sees as recompense for time and money invested in the player, rather than a sometimes exorbitant transfer fee that might restrict the player's chances of a desired move.
But the Commission claimed yesterday that if there was no response forthcoming, FIFA's current transfer system would be 'struck down' by the end of the year - and players left under no legal obligation to adhere to
their contracts under European law.
Bradford City chairman Geoffrey Richmond claimed: 'It sounds like a recipe for anarchy but then none of the madness that comes out of Brussels surprises me anymore. They should stick to the size of sausages and the shape of bananas, and let the rest of us get on with life in the real world.'
Richmond has hauled Bradford into the
Premiership on a relative shoestring.
Bigger, more established top-flight clubs might expect to be the cherry-pickers rather than the picked, but there is an underlying fear that sweeping away the present
system would undermine youth policies so badly it would make it an economic
nonsense to pursue such schemes.
Manchester United, Leeds and Liverpool have poured millions into the sophisticated youth set-ups that produced David Beckham, Harry Kewell and Steven Gerrard, but it is doubtful any 'compensation' could have made good their loss under relaxed regulations.
One Premiership chairman, who preferred not to be named, said: 'There would be no real incentive for seeking out and developing your own talent.
'What would be the point in working hard and spending a lot of money on bringing the next generation through when you could just go
out, pick off a chosen player and pay his club some compensation instead? It's hard to see how English football, at both club and international level, would benefit.'
Agents might appear to be among those who would benefit. Indeed, Brendan Batson of the players' union, the Professional Footballers' Association, said: 'I can see certain people who have a vested interest relishing the chance to move play-ers around.
'This is the sting in the tail after Bosman. We are rightly proud of our 92-club structure and that must be maintained.'
However, Jonathan Barnett, who acts for Keiron Dyer and Shaka Hislop among others, shares Batson's fears for the make-up of the English game. He said: 'The big clubs will have a field day but it could be disastrous for lower clubs.'
Managers' Association chief John Barnwell sees no advantage for his members either,
saying: 'The manager is already under pressure and this will make it worse.
Football should be treated as a special case by the EC.'
Fat chance. Brussels spokesperson Amelia Torres spelt it out: 'What we are doing is
warning FIFA that unless it comes up with new proposals on the transfer rules, the Commission will take a negative decision on the existing ones. It would mean the FIFA system would no longer be legal.'