Five leading European clubs will call on FIFA president Sepp Blatter to allow their players to miss out on the Confederations Cup in June.
Representatives from Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Milan and Ajax will meet Blatter in Zurich tomorrow, intent on persuading the FIFA chief to sanction the withdrawal of players for this summer’s tournament.
However, Blatter is expected to ignore their pleas, arguing that the domestic leagues have had ample time to accomodate the Confederations Cup into their existing timetables.
“First, releasing players for matches for their national teams is a priority FIFA rule, and the dates chosen for the Confederations Cup comply with FIFA’s international calendar agreed in August, 2000, sufficiently early enough for national associations to take into account for their 2002-2003 calendar,” he told Le Monde.
The Confederations Cup runs from June 18-29 and involves Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, USA, Japan, France, New Zealand and Turkey.
However, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has already stated that he will defy Blatter.
The Spanish championship does not finish until June 22, meaning Madrid woould be forced to finish the season without their Brazilian and French players.
