LUGANO, Switzerland, May 22 (Reuters) - The Swiss football association said on Thursday it was considering invoking FIFA's 14-day player release rule in an effort to free defender Patrick Mueller for the country's Euro 2008 training camp.
Mueller, 31, is tied up with French league champions
Olympique Lyon who are due to contest the French Cup final on
Saturday - exactly two weeks before the Euro 2008 co-hosts kick
off the tournament on June 7 against the Czech Republic.
'I have talked to Lyon's trainer who told me they would make
a definite decision about Mueller on Friday evening but that's
really too late for us,' Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn told
Thursday's news conference.
'That's why the Swiss FA is doing all it can to help get him
released, including looking at the FIFA regulations. If Mueller
does not get to play on Saturday, either in Paris or here in
Lugano, it's going to be very difficult to select him.'
Kuhn said he would be happy for Mueller to play in the cup
final against Paris St Germain but was worried the convalescent
defender would in fact be kept on the bench.
With Mueller yet to prove his fitness after tearing a
cruciate knee ligament in December, the coach said he would
rather have him play for definite in Switzerland's friendly
against Slovakia, also on Saturday.
The friendly will be Switzerland's last match before next
Wednesday's deadline for teams to announce their definitive
23-man Euro 2008 squads.
