FIFA Report -- Report Backs '6+5' Plan; IFAB Considers Rule Changes

Sepp Blatter’s ‘6+5 rule’ is being championed by a group of European legal experts. Legal Experts Back FIFA President Player Quota Plan

A report issued by a group of European legal experts is backing a plan by world soccer's governing body to introduce national quotas for players in European club teams.

The proposed ‘6+5 rule,’ a reform championed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, states that at the start of a game a team must contain at least six players who are eligible for the national team of that club's country. But it has been dismissed by the European Commission as a restriction on labor movement.

The Institute for European Affairs study, carried out at the request of FIFA by a panel of European legal experts, concluded that the scheme does not breach European law.

INEA chairman Professor Juergen Gramke, says the 6+5 plan, which has the backing of FIFA members, does not contravene European law.

“The key aim of the 6+5 rule in the view of the experts is the creation and assurance of sporting competition.

“The 6+5 rule does not impinge on the core area of the right to freedom of movement.”

Gramke, who conducted the review, presented his report to European Parliament this week.

Blatter says the study confirms what the global football governing body has been fighting for.

“This study confirms that we are not breaching European law in defending the 6+5 rule,” Blatter says.

“On behalf of FIFA and its member associations, I would like to express my pleasure at this finding. Through 6+5, we wish to encourage the development of young players, protect national teams and maintain competitiveness and the unpredictability of results.

Blatter wants the 6+5 rule introduced by the start of the 2012-2013 season.

IFAB Considers Rule Changes

FIFA's lawmakers meet this weekend to discuss changes to rules including extra referees, rugby-style sin-bins for yellow card offences and increasing the number of substitutions during a match.

The International Football Association Board, which acts as custodian of the laws for the sport, will consider whether extra linesmen monitoring penalty areas at each end of the pitch can help alert referees to fouls or diving, or whether the ball has crossed the line for a goal.

European governing body UEFA will deliver the results of its recent trials at under-age tournaments and international matches in Slovenia, Cyprus and Hungary.

UEFA chief Michel Platini and FIFA President Sepp Blatter both believe the new measure would help avoid the need to introduce potentially disruptive video replays. UEFA chief Michael Platini believes more officials will prevent the need for video replay during matches.

Top football officials say such television replays hamper the fluidity of a match with unnecessary stoppages.

The IFAB – comprising the four British associations and four representatives from FIFA - will also look at the merits of introducing rugby-style sin-bins, where a player booked for a foul is sent to the sidelines for a set amount of time.

The Irish Football Association is pushing the proposal. The Scottish FA has proposed an increase in the number of substitutes allowed from three to four when a match goes to overtime.

Also on the agenda is a clarification of the offside law wording to reaffirm that if a defender leaves the pitch, he is still “active” and deemed to be positioned at the goal line.

FIFA Agents And Players Caught In Cocaine Probe

Two player agents and several current and former football players connected to Spanish clubs are being investigated in a cocaine trafficking probe, according to Spanish media.

The operation, carried out in Madrid and the Mediterranean port of Valencia, has led to the seizure this week of 600 kilograms of cocaine hidden in shipping containers, the online edition of sports daily AS reports, citing sources close to the investigation.

Media reports did not name which footballers are under investigation but AS claims some are from first division side Atletico Madrid, second division side Rayo Vallecano and Poli Ejido, in the third division.

Spain is the main European entry for cocaine, especially from Colombia, the top producer of the drug.

Responding to the use by Spanish media of the term “FIFA agents” to describe some of those targeted in the sting, FIFA says no such position exists, as players' agents have not been licensed by FIFA since 2001.

Instead, players' agents are licensed directly by each national association.

FIFA says in a statement that it “strongly condemned any criminal activities which may be, even if indirectly, associated to football.”

World Cup Ticket Requests Flooding In

There was a global scramble for 2010 FIFA World Cup tickets as soon as the online ticket portal opened on Feb. 20.

Within 24 hours, applications from 128 countries for 216,975 tickets were received. This excludes applications by South African residents at FNB branches in the host country.

The biggest number of orders came from South Africans, followed by applicants from Great Britain and the U.S.

“These are fantastic numbers, underlining yet again the fervor taking hold around the world for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first on the African continent. It is very exciting and further evidence that the global football family want to be part of this unique event on this very special continent,” David Will, FIFA honorary vice president and chairman of the FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee, says.

Fans have until midnight on March 31 to apply at www.FIFA.com.

Irrespective of the date of their order, all applicants have the same chance of success. In case of oversubscribed matches, a random selection draw will be organized on April 15 to allocate tickets. All applicants will know by the end of April whether they have been successful.

Second FIFA Medical Center Opened In South Africa

FIFA has unveiled a second ‘Medical Centre of Excellence’ on the African continent.

The UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM) and the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) in Cape Town were officially inaugurated as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence this week.

The first FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence was inaugurated at Wits University in Johannesburg on March 31. Professor Jiri Dvorak is pleased with South Africa’s medical readiness for the World Cup. (FIFA)

“FIFA is committed to improving standards of care in football worldwide, including prevention as a priority, complemented by accurate diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation,” Professor Jiri Dvorak, the director of the FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in Cape Town says.

Since the end of 2005, FIFA has accredited nine centers across the world.

The FIFA medical team, during its visit to South Africa, says it is satisfied with arrangements put in place by South Africa ahead of the Confederations Cup in June and the World Cup next year.

“My impression is positive. I am confident with what I have seen and heard,” Dvorak told journalists after meeting with local organizing officials.

“I am personally confident that we can hold the World Cup from the medical side... that the teams, the FIFA family, the FIFA delegation and also the spectators will be well taken care of.”

A doping laboratory for testing has been set up in the central city of Bloemfontein where results can be produced within 48 hours.

Dvorak says 10 players per team will be subject to random tests during the competitions. He added that FIFA has not recorded any football doping cases since former Argentine football star Diego Maradona during the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

Written by Anthony Stavrinos

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