One thing that strikes me about FIFA's Six plue Five idea (whereby a team would have to field no more than 5 'foreign nationals') is...while everyone is clamouring about it being illegal in the EU as being a restraint of trade, surely that only applies to the actual employment of said players. A club could still employ as many 'foreigners' as they like, but would them being left out of the team on a saturday be regarded as a restraint of trade as no one has stopped them being employed (though they are in effect being stopped from applying their trade in the workplace). Surely this could, in theory, allow a player to claim 'restraint of trade' if the coach doesn't pick him on a saturday at the moment? The original Bosman case was brought because the club he played for refused to let him leave, which was indeed a restraint of trade as it stopped him from being employed...The six plus five rule wouldn't stop anyone being employed at all...
|
Six plus Five