UEFA votes to ban third party player ownership
Reuters - Thursday 06 December 2012, 17:30
European football's governing body UEFA wants to prohibit the
controversial third-party ownership of players, secretary general Gianni
Infantino said on Thursday.
"We
all know that third-party ownership of players bears many threats and
there are many issues linked with the integrity of the competition and
it is really time to regulate that and to have a stance on that,"
Infantino said.
Infantino said UEFA would ask world governing body FIFA to issue regulations banning the practice.
"World football 's governing body FIFA will be requested to issue relevant
worldwide regulations prohibiting third-party ownership of players,"
UEFA said in a statement.
"UEFA... would
also be ready to implement a regulatory framework to prohibit
third-party ownership arrangements in UEFA competitions, should FIFA not
take the appropriate steps.
"In that case, a transitional period of three to four seasons would apply."
Third-party
ownership is when the transfer rights of players are wholly or
partially owned by the footballer himself or a company, instead of just
the player's club.
The practice is banned in England, France and Poland but allowed in many other countries. It is especially prevalent in Brazil.
English
club West Ham United were fined for breaking rules on third-party
agreements regarding player transfers when they signed Argentine forward
Carlos Tevez from Brazilian club Corinthians in 2006.
There
followed a protracted legal battle with Sheffield United, who sued West
Ham for the cost of relegation saying the Londoners should have faced
the drop instead because they ought to have been given a points
deduction as well as the fine.
After two years, the clubs settled out of court.
When
Brazilian Oscar joined Chelsea this year, the fee, which media have
estimated at 25 million pounds, was divided up between
two Brazilian teams, the midfielder himself and entrepreneurs who own
what are called his "economic rights."