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EU commissioner dashes Fifa 6+5 plans

28/05/2008

Fifa president Sepp Blatter's plans to introduce a foreign player cap on football clubs have been dealt a severe blow after the European Commission stated that such a move would go against employment laws.

Blatter is due to put his plans for clubs to be required to field at least six home-grown players in their starting 11 before a Fifa conference in Sydney at the end of the week.

However, the announcement by the EC commissioner for employment, Vlamimir Spidla, that any country that implement such discriminatory rules could face legal action, has all-but killed off the motion before it has even got going.

Mr Spidla argued: "The Commission is showing the red card to the 6+5 rule.

"Professional footballers are workers," he added, meaning that they are legally protected against discrimination based on the grounds of nationality in addition to being allowed to move between clubs and countries once their contracts are up.

However, the commissioner did hint that the recent proposals put forward by Uefa, which would see Champions League clubs be required to field a minimum number of players who have spent at least three years growing up in the country they are representing, would win the support of the European authorities.

"Compared with the intentions announced by Fifa to impose the so-called 6+5 rule which is directly discriminatory and therefore incompatible with EU law, the home-grown players rule proposed by Uefa seems to be proportionate and to comply with the principle of the free movement of workers," he said.