Soccer limiting player stakes
European soccer’s governing body has followed in the footsteps of England’s
Premier League by voting to outlaw the practice of investors partly owning player rights. The executive board of
UEFA, led by Michel Platini, agreed to push for an end to the practice Thursday.
FIFA, which regulates soccer worldwide, is looking into a similar ban of the concept investors use to bet that transfer fees of players will increase. The technique is widely used in Portugal, Spain and Turkey,
but banned in England, France and Poland.
“We all know third-party ownership of players bears many threats and there are many issues linked with the integrity of the competition, and it’s really time to regulate that,” UEFA’s General
Secretary Gianni Infantino told a news conference.
Transfers fall under FIFA’s jurisdiction. Infantino said if
the global body doesn’t
act, UEFA will ban teams
with third-party players from its Europa League and Champions League competitions following a “transitional period” of three to four years.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore gave a presentation last month to FIFA explaining the dangers of allowing outside investors to have stakes in players.