EC delivers another thumbs-down to Fifa's plans for 6+5 rule
Governing body's plans to force clubs to field six players from their home nation have been dealt another blow
Jan Figel
The European Commission's top authority for sport, Jan Figel, says Fifa's 6+5 plan would not survive a court challenge. Photograph: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images
Fifa's desire to force the controversial 6+5 rule on English clubs appears to have been dealt a mortal blow by the European Commission. Football's world governing body had high hopes that the rule, under which six players in every starting line-up would have to be qualified to play for the national team where the club is based, could be introduced under a "specificity of sport" provision, giving it an exemption from European legal norms. Last month Fifa delivered a 200-page report compiled by legal experts in support of its claims.
Jan Figel, the European commissioner for culture and the EC's highest authority on sporting matters, has ordered an analysis of the Fifa-funded report ahead of talks with Zurich officials. But even before those talks Figel has roundly scotched Fifa's ambitions. "The Commission cannot agree to an illegal system," he said. "So, as long as Fifa keeps on proposing the 6+5 rule as it is currently formulated, the Commission will not be able to endorse [it] within the European Union. It's as simple as that: the 6+5 rule cannot apply within the EU."
Although he added that the "specificity of sport" provision was a red herring because he considers 6+5 to be discriminatory, Figel invited Fifa to introduce the rule regardless, adding to the website epltalk.com: "If Fifa were to impose the 6+5 rule in the EU, any professional football clubs or players who felt that they were treated unfairly by the rule could take the issue to the court," he said. "And they would win."
