Proposed football rules are 'discriminatory'

Football association rules to include home-grown players in their squads go directly against EU laws on discrimination, according to a report prepared for the European Parliament.

The report was compiled by a Dutch legal institute on behalf of the European Parliament in the wake of new rules introduced by UEFA, the European football association.

According to these rules clubs participating in the Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions must, as from the start of the 2006-7 season, include four home-grown players in their 25-man squads with the figure rising to six in 2007-8 and to eight in 2008-9.

Although the quotas refer to the country where a player has been trained rather than to his nationality, the report argued that the quotas would discriminate against foreign nationals. One of the key aims of the EU single market is to remove barriers allowing the free flow of labour and goods across borders.

The new UEFA rules are very similar to those recently imposed by the Malta Football Association on clubs and which are being investigated by the European Commission.

The MFA imposes a requirement that a minimum of eight home-grown players must be playing on the field at any point in time during Premier league matches.

A few weeks ago, Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla said the MFA rules seem to be in violation of Community law and promised that the Commission will make the necessary inquiries with the Maltese authorities.

Asked about the result of this investigation, a spokesman for the Commission told The Times the Maltese authorities had already replied to the Commission's queries and this is now "under evaluation".

The spokesman added that "the Commission, if necessary, will again contact the Maltese authorities for further clarification. If the Commission concludes there is an infringement of Community law and, in particular, free movement then, if necessary, a letter of formal notice will be sent thus starting infringement procedures".

According to EU law, rules on the free movement of workers also apply to sportsmen and this was confirmed by the Court of Justice in its Bosman ruling.

The Bosman ruling, carrying the name of a Belgian footballer who had first taken his club to the European Court back in 1990, gave a new dimension to European football specifying freedom of movement rules.

The court held that article 39 of the EC Treaty precludes rules that limit the number of professional players from other member states who could play in football competitions and that this article applies to rules by sporting associations such as FIFA or UEFA.