Why restrict pro players to two clubs?

THE story to the right of this column explains how three players have been caught up in rules and regulation red-tape that has had a serious impact on their careers.

In summary, Bondz N’Gala can’t play for Gillingham because he’s already played for Barnet and Eastleigh this season.

Jonny Margetts can’t go on loan to Crewe because he’s featured for Lincoln and Scunthorpe. Ulrich Nnomo is unable to play for Paris FC because he’s played for Chateuroux and Leyton Orient.

This is a FIFA regulation and, for some reason, it seems to have caught out a number of clubs in recent days. Whose fault that is remains to be seen, but, more serious, is the situation the players find themselves in.

Does this rule about a player being able to play for only two clubs in a season really need to apply? Is it not a restraint of trade? Surely, footballers should be able to do their job whether it is with more than two clubs in a campaign?

Here’s an example. The season starts in August and a player plays two or three games for his parent club before falling out of favour with his boss.

He then goes on loan to a club for the first half of the season before returning to his parent club. Surely it’s quite natural that this player may want to go on loan to a different club in the second half of the season.

Yet our understanding is that this would not be possible because the player has already played for two clubs.

Does this make sense? Take the case of Margetts. He wanted to go out on loan to Crewe to get some games, but couldn’t. Now he’s back at Scunthorpe fighting for minutes on the pitch.

What about N’Gala? Does he return, cap in hand, to Barnet and Eastleigh to see if they’ll take him back – or does he have to go lower down the ladder to semi-professional National League South?

There’s something not quite right – and it needs sorting fast.