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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants to
reintroduce limits on foreigners playing in national leagues, a
move which amounts to a direct challenge to European Union
authorities. By the 2010-11 league season, Blatter wants to have a system
where a team's starting lineup would have six national players. "This is a matter of principle," Blatter said Friday. The EU embraces the principle of freedom of movement of workers,
which should allow EU soccer players to seek employment wherever
they want in the 27 member nations. "You cannot compare a worker with a football player," said
Blatter, calling sports professionals a unique case within the
employment market. From a mostly local game, soccer in Europe has become more
multinational, with some clubs fielding no national player in big
games. Blatter has said that apart from alienating fans, it also
stifled the development of homegrown talent. Soccer authorities and the EU have been at odds ever since the
1995 Bosman ruling at the EU's highest court, which forced free
agency and free movement of players in the leagues. "We had the Bosman ruling (12) years ago and president Blatter
said footballers are not workers. They are workers according to EU
law," EU Commission spokesman Frederic Vincent said. Now Blatter wants the EU to give sports more leeway in running
its own affairs. "Football is strong enough to organize itself," Blatter said,
arguing authorities should only interfere in stadium security,
doping and issues such as corruption. The free movement of workers,
though, is a cornerstone of the EU's treaty. Blatter wants an article in a new EU treaty being discussed to
underpin the special status and autonomy of sports, allowing it to
not abide by the free-market principles of other sectors. Among
other things, it would give plans to impose quotas on foreigners a
chance of success. He got backing from the International Olympic Committee on
Friday. Ahead of the Oct. 18-19 EU summit of government leaders to
discuss treaty reform, IOC president Jacques Rogge said "sport can
play its unique role thanks to its autonomy." "This role would be seriously compromised if sport governing
bodies are subject to public interference," Rogge said in a
statement. Foreign investors are not necessarily a bad influence on clubs,
Blatter said. "As long as the money is correctly handled, then we have
nothing to say against the ownership of foreign investors," he
said. There has been a spate of foreign takeovers recently, especially
in England, where eight Premier League teams are currently in
foreign hands. Some fear that after initial investment, many will
pull out, leaving the clubs impoverished. Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has said the
foreign owners have brought a new professionalism to his league. UEFA imposed conditions two seasons ago to introduce mandatory
use of so-called homegrown players on teams -- players who have been
trained at a local club or within a certain country for a number of
years. Without specifically mentioning a nationality, it seeks to
sidestep the EU rules. "We need to have the courage to take these decisions," Blatter
said during a conference call. Blatter wants a new FIFA strategic committee to look into the
issue next week, so that the executive committee later this month
can send it on to the FIFA Congress in Sydney next May. It would provide enough time to have it ready by 2010.
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