UEFA finally bowed to legal pressure yesterday and decided to abolish its limits which previously restricted teams to fielding three foreigners. The European Court of Justice ruled in December that all clubs in the European Union could field as many EU nationals as they wished.

But UEFA said it expects clubs to retain voluntary restrictions for the remaining matches of this season's three European Cup competitions, and also plans to lobby governments over the issue.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson said: "We belong to the European Union and we obeyed the laws. I would have preferred the EC to have been polite and not always come with threats. It's a very hostile attitude they have taken and one which I very much regret. I thought they were there to serve us.

However, the battle of wills between the EU and UEFA looks far from over. Johansson said he would call on national governments to recognise the specific nature of sport, and discuss the matter at the forthcoming EU summit in Turin in late March.