Post by CarlisleReiver on Jun 15, 2015 13:28:55 GMT
League To Ban Players Where Clubs Default On Transfer Fees
Additional information coming out of the Football League AGM from individual clubs indicates that the League will now be able to crack down harder on clubs that are late in making transfer fee payments. At present the League only have limited rights to intervene in cases where a player is transferred to another club, but where the buying club fails to keep up with their staged payments agreed at the time of the transfer. Existing rules allow the League to place a club under a transfer embargo, but that only stops future transfers taking place, rather than dealing with the fact that a club has bought a player that they cannot afford.
In the past few years, rows have broken out between clubs, with Peterborough United Chairman Darragh McAnthony blasting Nottingham Forest in February 2015 for falling behind on staged payments relating to striker Britt Assombalonga - a situation that in turn prevented Posh from being able to add to their squad at the tail end of the January transfer window due to the unreceived income. At the time Forest were placed under a transfer embargo, but Carlisle United Chairman Andrew Jenkins has said that rule changes at the 2015 Football League AGM mean that the League can block the player concerned from being able to play for his new club, as well as the transfer embargo, thus meaning that the buying club cannot benefit from the player until they put their house in order:
"If a player has not been paid for by a club, as per transfer agreements, then he would not be permitted to play in games for his new club. In addition, any clubs late in making payments within transfer agreements, for a period of 30 days or more during a season, will not be permitted to transfer players for a fee of any type, other than those which involve a sell-on fee. This should ensure that clubs who let their players go will receive the payments they are due as and when they hit the targets agreed in the transfer documentation."
Mr Jenkins has also said that they are definitely expecting the 2015-16 season to be the last year that Football League clubs can make use of the short-term loan system, which includes Emergency Loans and Youth Loans. Back in December 2011, FIFA indicated that they regarded these two methods as an abuse of the transfer window system, but petitioning from the Football League has twice seen a reprieve on this, with the latest coming in March 2015, which allowed special dispensation for the 2015-16 campaign. However, Jenkins is expecting this to be the last time that reprieve is authorised:
"We received confirmation of a regulation which will affect lower league clubs with regard to our use of short-term loan deals. There were 355 such transactions in the Football League last season but, as from the 2016-17 season, this type of loan will not be permitted unless changes at the top level in FIFA bring about a change in attitude. In the mean time we will all plan towards operating without this type of loan system being in place."
The Football League AGM also brought up the issue of the abandonment of the Blackpool vs Huddersfield Town match on the final day of the 2014-15 season. The League's executive decision was to allow the abandoned scoreline of 0-0 to stand as the final result, but that might have been more contentious had either team or their rivals had promotion or relegation issues hinging on the outcome of that game. With Tangerines supporters on the pitch, protesting against their club's ownership, the game never reached a conclusion. Strictly speaking within Football League rules, the game should have been restaged, but the League choose to let sleeping dogs lie.
Surprisingly, it seems the League hadn't considered too much the possibility of such a situation developing in a key final day fixture. They have now decided to allocate a short period of time between the official end of season weekend, and the play-offs to ensure they have room to rearrange a fixture if the end result matters significantly:
"In view of the Blackpool game being abandoned, it was decided that a period of four days should be available, after the completion of the last game of the season, to fulfill any fixture the Football League board say needs to be completed or replayed, particularly those which affect promotion or relegation issues. It was also agreed that any players registered via loan or short-term loan agreements would be available to play in the rearranged game. This should help to avoid a situation where a game could effectively be written off as abandoned or not completed, with points not being allocated.
Additional information coming out of the Football League AGM from individual clubs indicates that the League will now be able to crack down harder on clubs that are late in making transfer fee payments. At present the League only have limited rights to intervene in cases where a player is transferred to another club, but where the buying club fails to keep up with their staged payments agreed at the time of the transfer. Existing rules allow the League to place a club under a transfer embargo, but that only stops future transfers taking place, rather than dealing with the fact that a club has bought a player that they cannot afford.
In the past few years, rows have broken out between clubs, with Peterborough United Chairman Darragh McAnthony blasting Nottingham Forest in February 2015 for falling behind on staged payments relating to striker Britt Assombalonga - a situation that in turn prevented Posh from being able to add to their squad at the tail end of the January transfer window due to the unreceived income. At the time Forest were placed under a transfer embargo, but Carlisle United Chairman Andrew Jenkins has said that rule changes at the 2015 Football League AGM mean that the League can block the player concerned from being able to play for his new club, as well as the transfer embargo, thus meaning that the buying club cannot benefit from the player until they put their house in order:
"If a player has not been paid for by a club, as per transfer agreements, then he would not be permitted to play in games for his new club. In addition, any clubs late in making payments within transfer agreements, for a period of 30 days or more during a season, will not be permitted to transfer players for a fee of any type, other than those which involve a sell-on fee. This should ensure that clubs who let their players go will receive the payments they are due as and when they hit the targets agreed in the transfer documentation."
Mr Jenkins has also said that they are definitely expecting the 2015-16 season to be the last year that Football League clubs can make use of the short-term loan system, which includes Emergency Loans and Youth Loans. Back in December 2011, FIFA indicated that they regarded these two methods as an abuse of the transfer window system, but petitioning from the Football League has twice seen a reprieve on this, with the latest coming in March 2015, which allowed special dispensation for the 2015-16 campaign. However, Jenkins is expecting this to be the last time that reprieve is authorised:
"We received confirmation of a regulation which will affect lower league clubs with regard to our use of short-term loan deals. There were 355 such transactions in the Football League last season but, as from the 2016-17 season, this type of loan will not be permitted unless changes at the top level in FIFA bring about a change in attitude. In the mean time we will all plan towards operating without this type of loan system being in place."
The Football League AGM also brought up the issue of the abandonment of the Blackpool vs Huddersfield Town match on the final day of the 2014-15 season. The League's executive decision was to allow the abandoned scoreline of 0-0 to stand as the final result, but that might have been more contentious had either team or their rivals had promotion or relegation issues hinging on the outcome of that game. With Tangerines supporters on the pitch, protesting against their club's ownership, the game never reached a conclusion. Strictly speaking within Football League rules, the game should have been restaged, but the League choose to let sleeping dogs lie.
Surprisingly, it seems the League hadn't considered too much the possibility of such a situation developing in a key final day fixture. They have now decided to allocate a short period of time between the official end of season weekend, and the play-offs to ensure they have room to rearrange a fixture if the end result matters significantly:
"In view of the Blackpool game being abandoned, it was decided that a period of four days should be available, after the completion of the last game of the season, to fulfill any fixture the Football League board say needs to be completed or replayed, particularly those which affect promotion or relegation issues. It was also agreed that any players registered via loan or short-term loan agreements would be available to play in the rearranged game. This should help to avoid a situation where a game could effectively be written off as abandoned or not completed, with points not being allocated.
