SOCCER
Belgian club takes Fifa to court over compensation for injured player
September 19, 2005
Abbas Bayat had bold dreams of guiding his small club, Charleroi, into the Champions League - until his star midfielder was injured playing for Morocco. Now, he wants Fifa to pay.
The case opens today in a Charleroi court and could have implications as far-reaching as the 1995 Bosman ruling, which drastically changed the face of club soccer in Europe.
Clubs such as Real Madrid and AC Milan have long sought more compensation from world governing body Fifa for letting their prized stars play in profitable national team competitions, including the World Cup. Fifa says profits trickle back to the grassroots through payments to national federations.
When Charleroi, from Belgium's industrial rustbelt, lost Moroccan player Abdelmajid Oulmers for eight months because of an injury sustained against Burkina Faso in November last year, Bayat had seen enough.
"We finished fifth (in the Belgian league), we could have even finished second, which would have meant Champions League qualification," he said in an interview. "It is a patently unfair system."
Charleroi had to pay Oulmers' medical costs and salary while he recovered from damaged ankle ligaments.
Bayat decided to take Fifa to court, seeking compensation. Charleroi received backing from the G-14 group of Europe's biggest soccer clubs.
"It is not an attack on the international game because we want players to represent their countries," said Chief Executive David Gill of Manchester United, one of the G14 members.
Click here
"But tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championship generate a billion Swiss francs (R5 014.7 million), yet the authorities get to use the assets who provide that income for free. There should be compensation."
The G-14 group argues players often come back fatigued, injured or both from big international competitions. The clubs get no pay from the international federation and continue to insure their players.
"The clubs, they just have to bear all the weight, but they have nothing to say," G-14 general Manager Thomas Kurth said.The smaller clubs are hit the hardest, Bayat said.
"It penalises particularly the clubs without the ability to have double coverage. The value of a player declines. The potential damage we suffered last year was very heavy," he said.
Players also complain because, even if their wages are paid, match bonuses are not.
"I'm only the victim and was penalised as far as match bonuses were concerned," Oulmers said.
The case is being compared to that of Bosman, the Belgian player who won a suit against Uefa that instituted a free agency for players and opened the market to foreigners.
"I have no idea where it will go," Bayat said.
"We're looking for a long-term solution that helps our club and . . . other clubs to have an equitable situation."
http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=295&fArticleId=2882024
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The G14 wants clubs to be compensated when players are injured representing national teams and is backing Charleroi's claim for financial help after Abdelmajid Oulmers was out for eight months when he tore ankle ligaments playing for Morocco.
The Charleroi midfielder was injured in a friendly against Burkina Faso last November and missed the rest of the season.
G14 general manager Thomas Kurth told the organisation's official website: "In March 2004, G14 filed a complaint with the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) claiming violations of Swiss competition law committed by FIFA in adopting and using the same regulations cited by Royal Charleroi.
"As it is G14's wish to seek a once and for all clarification if these regulations are legal, it is sensible for us to join this case."
FIFA, which refuses to negotiate with the G14, has always maintained it is up to national associations to reimburse clubs for players on international duty and is not the responsibility of the world governing body.
FIFA says 75 percent of the profits from major tournaments such as the World Cup are ploughed back into the national associations who decide themselves what to do with the money.
The legal case brought by Charleroi officially opened on Monday and G14, which represents Europe's 18 richest and most powerful clubs, has joined the proceedings by filing an 'application for voluntary intervention'.
A statement on the G14 website said:
"G14 becomes a full party in the proceedings before the Charleroi Commercial Court ... in a complaint about the illegality of Articles 36 ... of the FIFA regulations which oblige clubs to make players available for national team duty under conditions unilaterally imposed ..."
FIFA, and its continental confederations such as UEFA in Europe, have long come under pressure from the likes of the G14 clubs in particular to compensate them for releasing players for World Cup finals and European championships.
Eurosport.com
see also:
http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=395987
Google it for more info.
_____________________________________
IMO it would only be fair.
To summarize this is the situation: FIFA uses empoyees (players) who are employed, and thus paid, by other employers, the clubs.
Quite a weird situation, don't you think so? It's like using employees from another factory in your own factory without paying anything...
Funny to see that one of Charleroi's lawyers, was the very lawyer who won the Bosman case...
Belgian club takes Fifa to court over compensation for injured player
September 19, 2005
Abbas Bayat had bold dreams of guiding his small club, Charleroi, into the Champions League - until his star midfielder was injured playing for Morocco. Now, he wants Fifa to pay.
The case opens today in a Charleroi court and could have implications as far-reaching as the 1995 Bosman ruling, which drastically changed the face of club soccer in Europe.
Clubs such as Real Madrid and AC Milan have long sought more compensation from world governing body Fifa for letting their prized stars play in profitable national team competitions, including the World Cup. Fifa says profits trickle back to the grassroots through payments to national federations.
When Charleroi, from Belgium's industrial rustbelt, lost Moroccan player Abdelmajid Oulmers for eight months because of an injury sustained against Burkina Faso in November last year, Bayat had seen enough.
"We finished fifth (in the Belgian league), we could have even finished second, which would have meant Champions League qualification," he said in an interview. "It is a patently unfair system."
Charleroi had to pay Oulmers' medical costs and salary while he recovered from damaged ankle ligaments.
Bayat decided to take Fifa to court, seeking compensation. Charleroi received backing from the G-14 group of Europe's biggest soccer clubs.
"It is not an attack on the international game because we want players to represent their countries," said Chief Executive David Gill of Manchester United, one of the G14 members.
Click here
"But tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championship generate a billion Swiss francs (R5 014.7 million), yet the authorities get to use the assets who provide that income for free. There should be compensation."
The G-14 group argues players often come back fatigued, injured or both from big international competitions. The clubs get no pay from the international federation and continue to insure their players.
"The clubs, they just have to bear all the weight, but they have nothing to say," G-14 general Manager Thomas Kurth said.The smaller clubs are hit the hardest, Bayat said.
"It penalises particularly the clubs without the ability to have double coverage. The value of a player declines. The potential damage we suffered last year was very heavy," he said.
Players also complain because, even if their wages are paid, match bonuses are not.
"I'm only the victim and was penalised as far as match bonuses were concerned," Oulmers said.
The case is being compared to that of Bosman, the Belgian player who won a suit against Uefa that instituted a free agency for players and opened the market to foreigners.
"I have no idea where it will go," Bayat said.
"We're looking for a long-term solution that helps our club and . . . other clubs to have an equitable situation."
http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=295&fArticleId=2882024
______________________________________________________
The G14 wants clubs to be compensated when players are injured representing national teams and is backing Charleroi's claim for financial help after Abdelmajid Oulmers was out for eight months when he tore ankle ligaments playing for Morocco.
The Charleroi midfielder was injured in a friendly against Burkina Faso last November and missed the rest of the season.
G14 general manager Thomas Kurth told the organisation's official website: "In March 2004, G14 filed a complaint with the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) claiming violations of Swiss competition law committed by FIFA in adopting and using the same regulations cited by Royal Charleroi.
"As it is G14's wish to seek a once and for all clarification if these regulations are legal, it is sensible for us to join this case."
FIFA, which refuses to negotiate with the G14, has always maintained it is up to national associations to reimburse clubs for players on international duty and is not the responsibility of the world governing body.
FIFA says 75 percent of the profits from major tournaments such as the World Cup are ploughed back into the national associations who decide themselves what to do with the money.
The legal case brought by Charleroi officially opened on Monday and G14, which represents Europe's 18 richest and most powerful clubs, has joined the proceedings by filing an 'application for voluntary intervention'.
A statement on the G14 website said:
"G14 becomes a full party in the proceedings before the Charleroi Commercial Court ... in a complaint about the illegality of Articles 36 ... of the FIFA regulations which oblige clubs to make players available for national team duty under conditions unilaterally imposed ..."
FIFA, and its continental confederations such as UEFA in Europe, have long come under pressure from the likes of the G14 clubs in particular to compensate them for releasing players for World Cup finals and European championships.
Eurosport.com
see also:
http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=395987
Google it for more info.
_____________________________________
IMO it would only be fair.
To summarize this is the situation: FIFA uses empoyees (players) who are employed, and thus paid, by other employers, the clubs.
Quite a weird situation, don't you think so? It's like using employees from another factory in your own factory without paying anything...
Funny to see that one of Charleroi's lawyers, was the very lawyer who won the Bosman case...
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