FA reveals plan to block ‘journeymen’

The Football Association and Premier League were on a collision course over Brexit last night after Greg Clarke revealed he would lobby the Government to block “journeyman” European Union players moving to England.

The FA chairman drew a line in the sand after two of the country’s most influential club owners, West Ham United’s David Gold and Stoke City’s Peter Coates, urged the Prime Minister to make footballers exempt from post-Brexit immigration controls.

Gold and Coates spoke out 24 hours after Theresa May formally triggered Article 50, notifying the EU of Britain’s intention to end its 40-year membership.

Dozens of top European stars playing in the Premier League – including Manchester United’s Juan Mata and Ander Herrera – would not currently qualify for work permits under rules governing visas for non-EU foreign players.

That follows the introduction of a new system two years ago for assessing the eligibility of foreign players by the FA – which wants more England-qualified starters in the top flight – with the support of the Home Office.

The Chancellor indicated last year that highly skilled, highly paid EU workers would be exempt from post-Brexit immigration controls.

But Clarke said: “What we want to do is have a few less journeyman international players.

“There has to be sensible centre ground where world-class players are welcomed in the Premier League but not journeymen who are displacing the young English talent coming through and are hopefully the future of the English national game and the international game and can’t get in the first team.

“It’s about sitting down with the Government and the Premier League and mapping out a compromise that people can live with.”