UEFA's Control and Disciplinary committee did not finally make any pronouncements today as had been expected, regarding the registration of both "Lass" Diarra and Huntelaar as Real Madrid players for the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
The story has been brewing for a couple of weeks now, ever since Real Madrid signed Lass from Portsmouth and then "discovered", via the press, that UEFA rules state that of a maximum of three new players that can be registered for the knock-out stages by Feb. 1, only one can have played in another European competition, such as the UEFA Cup.
Admittedly, Real Madrid have found themselves in a fairly unusual position, having lost three players for the remainder of the season before the year was out. However, UEFA rules are quite clear on this point, and have been for some years.
Protestations to the contrary cannot disguise the fact that the club's sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic, or one of his team, should have known. The
chances of a resignation, or, at the very least, some sort of apology for the mistake, are, shall we say, remote.Mijatovic & co. have tried to deal with this in typical fashion, acting as if it is someone else's fault. In this case, they argue that UEFA's rules are ambiguous and contradictory, given that third-placed teams in the Champions League group stages then go on to compete in the UEFA Cup, and say they are prepared to appeal all the way to the Tribunal of Arbitration for Sport.
Besides the fact that it is unlikely that there is enough time for the appeals process to be completed before the Feb. 1 deadline, Real Madrid's directors are being at best disingenuous (and thus once again incompetent) or at worst just going through the motions for appearance's sake.
The rules are quite clear (articles 17.17 and 17.18 if you want to look them up) and Real will have to pick one of their two recent acquisitions (probably Lass) for registration.
Whether the rules are "fair," given Real Madrid's injury situation, is irrelevant, and UEFA may very well decide to alter them, but only in time for next season.
Update: UEFA finally announced late on Thursday evening that its Control and Disciplinary Body had rejected Real Madrid's request and that any appeals would be heard next week.
View the original article at the All In White blog.
4 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jordon Tefft 6 months ago
RM have a good arguements for getting them in.
1st~If a whole team can finish 3rd in the group stages then the whole teams plays in the UEFA Cup, why can't two players do it.
2nd~Employment laws states that a person can't be stopped from doing their job, regardless of what it is.
Hopefully these will work. If not, I say Diarra for CL!
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Gonzalo 6 months ago
Jordon, I don't think either argument will cut much ice with either UEFA or the TAS:
1. The rule refers to players moving teams in mid-season. This prevents stronger teams poaching players from weaker teams, hence why it's not allowed at all between teams on the same competition. The fact that 3rd placed teams in the CL group stages go on to play in the UEFA cup does not change the make-up of the teams involved. Obviously Real Madrid's intention was to replace long-term injuries and there's no question it has anything to do with weaking other sides, hence my speculation about UEFA chaning the rules. But, as they stand, they are pretty clear. You don't have to like rules, you just have to abide by them ;)
2. Employment laws don't apply in this case - if that was so, any player who wasn't fielded for a particular game and who disagreed with the decision could make a complaint. The EU's employment laws (and I'm not an expert) cover things like restrictive contracts (hence the Bosman case), access to training facilities, and all the things you might expect as an employee. You cannot reasonably expect to play the games you want just because you're employed by a club.
I would be very surprised if UEFA yield at all. I maintain that it is all a smokescreen to try to deflect attention from the fact that Mijatovic and his team did not know about the regulations when they signed Huntelaar and Diarra and are now trying to change them to suit themselves.
Can anyone seriously argue that, had Mijatovic known about the regulations, he would have bought two Cup-tied players when he could use only one? That taking on UEFA was part of the plan? I don't think so.
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Jordon Tefft 6 months ago
Yeah... =(
Can't blame em for trying though.
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Alex Stamp 6 months ago
Agreed Gonzalo, Mijatovic has screwed up royally. Furthermore, this realisation will impact on who else they can go for in January........hence why you see them being linked with the likes of Zarate. Real can't possibly win this case, it would set a dangerous precedent-where would you stop? Personally if I were Madrid I'd plump for Diarra, far more versatile, and to be honest far more effective. I have reservations about Huntelaar, he plays f too much with his back to goal and seems to be lacking in pace-something which will be exposed at the top level
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