By Andrew Warshaw
April 3 – FIFA is on yet another collision course with Europe’s clubs after revealing that players do, after all, have to be released if selected for the London 2012 Olympics.
The Olympic football tournament, primarily for under 23 players, was left off the international match calendar by FIFA but the world governing body now insists compulsory release is covered by existing rules that state “a duty to release players exists on the basis of a special decision by the FIFA Executive Committee”.
The latest ruling was made at last week’s FIFA Executive Committee meeting in Zurich, tucked away amid all the publicity over corruption and reform.
“All member associations will receive a circular letter shortly informing them accordingly,” FIFA confirmed in a statement late on Monday.
On paper the surprise move will seriously strengthen the hand of national coaches, not least Team GB, competing for the first time since 1960.
It would appear FIFA are trying to avoid a repetition of what happened at Beijing in 2008 when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by three clubs, including Barcelona, against being forced to release players.
In practice, however, the mandate to clubs may not ultimately carry much bite.
UEFA have already made it clear that clubs shouldn’t be obliged to release players who have also competed at the European Championship finals that end shortly before the Olympics begin.
It is also understood the British Olympic Association (BOA) has agreed informally with English football authorities that Team GB head coach Stuart Pearce (pictured) would not double up by picking players who had performed in Poland and Ukraine.
Although three overage players are allowed in each Olympic squad, most countries ignored this in 2008.
But the nuance now is that if Pearce, or any other coach for that matter, wants a particular player who ends up being merely a squad member at Euro 2012, there would be nothing to stop him.
The Olympics clashes with lucrative pre-season tours as well as the qualifying round of the Champions League and FIFA’s latest move brought an immediate response from the 200-strong European Club Association (ECA).
The ECA, which has had an increasingly fraught relationship with FIFA in recent months, said it was not consulted and that the subject would be discussed at a scheduled board meeting next week.
“The ECA is very surprised by this decision,” a statement said.
“The Olympics was not supposed to be in the calendar.”
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