Against the background of a controversial and potentially far reaching court case in Belgium, tensions are rising between UEFA and G-14 which represents eighteen of Europe's top clubs. Accusations have been revived that the top club are planning their own breakway league which they deny. At the recent Uefa Congress in Budapest, Europe's 52 national football associations approved a resolution that formalised their opposition to G-14, pledging to defend the sport's interests against a 'self-appointed group of clubs.' It was proposed that clubs participating in the Champions League and the Uefa Cup should be asked to declare their support for the sport's administrators or face exclusion.
The case in Belgium is being brought by Charleroi, backed by G-14, against Fifa, Charleroi are claiming compensation over a player injured in an international match. Moroccan Abdelmajid Oulmers was out for eight months after playing agaisnt Burkina Faso in November 2004. Charleroi claim that the loss of Oulmers scuppered their chances of winning their domestic league last year (they eventually finished fifth). The G-14 group is also backing French champions Olympique Lyon in a similar action in the case of defender Eric Abidal who broke his foot during a France friendly.
G-14's general manager Thomas Kurth said, 'The current regulations are written by the federations, for the federations. Professional clubs have no direct representation on the bodies that make the rules and, not surprisingly, these regulations favour federations over clubs.' Kurth believes that three key points are at issue:
Clubs and national associations should be protected from the cost of player injuries.
Clubs should be compensated for the contribution they make to international tournaments.
A harmonised international calendar for international football must be mutually agreed between clubs and federations.
The relative intransigence of UEFA/FIFA in this dispute in part reflects the fact that their regulatory control of football is under threat. The issue is not the legality of compulsory player release clauses for international games but rather issues of representation and ultimately control in European football.
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