BRUSSELS, April 17 (Reuters) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter aims to bypass the European Union and UEFA next month over plans to curb foreign players at soccer clubs, which could lead to a spate of costly court cases, FIFA officials said.
UEFA has so far dismissed Blatter's proposal to restrict
teams to five foreign nationals on the pitch on the grounds that
it conflicts with EU laws on the free movement of workers,
potentially leading to widespread legal actions.
Despite UEFA's stance and EU opposition, the world game's
top official will seek a 'gentleman's agreement' on the matter
among the national associations, including those in Europe, at
FIFA's annual congress in Sydney next month, bypassing Europe's
governing body, the officials said.
UEFA favours reaching a deal with the EU's executive
Commission on its home-grown player rule which sets a quota of
locally trained players at clubs but without any discrimination
on nationality.
FIFA says that does not go far enough and allows too much
exploitation of young players by clubs.
To change the rules, Blatter needs 75 percent support at the
congress where each of FIFA's 208 member associations who are
eligible to vote have one vote each and UEFA as an organisation
has none.
Tensions have risen between the two power brokers after UEFA
president Michel Platini refused to accompany Blatter on a trip
to Brussels last week to convince the EU institutions of the
merits of his plan, prompting the FIFA chief to cancel.
A spokesman for Blatter blamed 'circumstances beyond our
control' for the u-turn, but EU, FIFA and UEFA sources told
Reuters that Brussels officials and some lawmakers did not wish
to engage with Blatter on the issue, notably in the absence of
Platini.
'As far as the EU is concerned, Blatter is flogging a dead
horse and any discussion would have been pointless,' one EU
official familiar with the situation said.
FIFA and UEFA sources said Platini advised Blatter in a
letter not to travel to the EU capital as it could harm UEFA's
positive relationship with Brussels, sparking an angry response
from Blatter who warned Platini that failure to back him could
have major consequences for their relationship in the future.
'He (Blatter) doesn't want a war with UEFA or to anger the
EU, but this is a point of principle for him,' one FIFA official
said.
'When he became president he made a promise on this and he
sees this as a major legacy of his time in office. He believes
he can get a gentleman's agreement with all the national
associations.'
EU and UEFA officials warned that such a deal could prompt
multi-million court cases challenging the rule and eventually
end up before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
In a similar case on the free movement of players across the
27-member bloc in 1995, the ECJ ruled against football's
authorities. The judgement, known as the 'Bosman ruling', proved
damning for the sport and changed the face of the game forever.
'Firstly you must be confident you are dealing with
gentlemen that will stick to the deal. But in this day and age
that is highly unlikely,' a senior UEFA source said.
