Italy cuts number of foreign imports
Reuters - Friday 02 July 2010, 16:55
ROME - Italian clubs will only be allowed
to buy one non-European Union player in the coming season after
the football federation voted to change the rules on Friday
following the Azzurri's World Cup flop.
Teams had previously been allowed to buy two non-EU players
per season but action has been taken to increase the pool of
Italian talent after the world champions crashed out in the
group stage in South Africa.
But the top flight Serie A, which will govern itself this
term for the first time, reacted angrily to the decision.
"The reduction was approved by the federation board with
Serie A voting against. The decision leaves a bitter taste in
the mouth and does not resolve Italian football's problems," Serie
A president Maurizio Beretta told the new Serie A website.
Inter Milan won the Champions League final in May without an
Italian in their starting lineup while new Italy coach Cesare
Prandelli said on Thursday he would consider foreign players
eligible for the Azzurri if he had to.
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