By Paul Nicholson
November 8 – FIFPro’s Expert Group on Transfer Matters has completed its latest round of meetings and has instructed its legal department to draft a series of ammendments to be proposed to FIFA to change Article 17 of its regulations. Article 17 of the FIFA Rules and Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) deals partly with the aim of guaranteeing the Respect of Contract. FIFPro’s recommendations are designed to harden this clause for players’ rights.
The Expert Group has decided that the most pressing issues facing players is non-payment of wages and that there seems to be no progress in resolving disputes and that the football world shows little commitment to changing this.
While welcoming FIFA’s recently increased capacity in its own arbitration committee (FIFA DRC), the Expert Group said that the speed with which the disputes are handled is still unacceptably low.
“Too many players must still wait an irresponsibly long time for what is rightfully theirs: their salary,” said a statement.
“The Expert Group expects that in collaboration with FIFA it will be able to take decisive steps towards a better protection of the rights of the players,” said Philippe Piat (pictured), the hard talking President of international players’ union FIFPro. He has recently been brought back to the lead the organisation for a second time, and is spokesperson of the Expert Group.
FIFPro said it is making considerable progress in formulating recommendations for improvements to the current transfer system in professional football. “We are very positive because we have taken several important steps,” said Piat.
FIFPro’s Expert Group on Transfer Matters is made up of representatives from all four FIFPro divisions and outside experts. The meetings at FIFPro House in Hoofddorp, Holland, covered a wide range of issues including Third Party Ownership, the Stability and Respect of Contract (Article 17), the Squad Size Limits and the legal position of unemployed players.
So far FIFPro has not outlined its position on other key issues like Third Party Ownership, following its most recent meetings. Some would argue, in light of recent media stories, that some of the business practices in this area are in need of equal attention from FIFPro and its membership.
On December 10 the Expert Group will agree its final recommendations and will present these to the FIFPro Board on December 12. The next stage will be for the FIFPro Board to discuss the proposed Article 17 ammendments with FIFA.
FIFPro said that it expects to “in consultation with FIFA … bring about the desired amendments.” But there was also a warning. “The Expert Group is studying which legal steps could be taken if the consultation with FIFA does not lead to the desired amendments.”
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