FOR once, soccer's ruling bodies have been reduced to silence. The world and European authorities, FIFA and UEFA, meeting in Zurich yesterday to discuss the implications of the European Court's now infamous Bosman judgment, for once declined to comment save for this brief statement: "The two organisations were in agreement concerning their future policy."
Details of their planned action will not be released until after UEFA inform their national associations today. The UEFA/FIFA silence may not be golden but it is certainly in sharp contrast to the ever noisier chorus of Europe wide voices sounding off in recent days about the implications of the European Court of Justice's December 15th judgment in favour of Belgian footballer Jean Marc Bosman.
That judgment, of course, ruled that both UEFA transfer fee rules and UEFA restrictions on the number of non national players fielded by club sides were, in effect, illegal.
A scenario of total chaos remains a possibility. In Germany, for example, Bundesliga side Cologne announced that in accordance with the Bosman judgment they would henceforth field all five foreigners on their books - if and when available. Cologne's decision probably had a lot to do with a less than fabulous league standing. They are currently joint fourth from bottom of the first division.
Fortunately for the German authorities the Bundesliga is currently in its winter recess so denying Cologne the opportunity to implement the threat. In the meantime, though, 36 first and second division club presidents got together and came to a "gentleman's agreement" whereby they would stick to the existing German rules allowing only three foreigners per team.
So, for the time being at least, it seems chaos and anarchy in the Bundesliga have been avoided. Or have they? Franz Beckenbauer, president of Bayern Munich, was not the only team boss to wonder out loud as to what might happen if and when some side, no doubt in difficulties, decided to ignore the "agreement" and field as many foreigners as it liked.
In Italy, precisely the same doubts were crossing the mind of Adriano Galliani, the AC Milan vice president. Galliani must be listened to as he is now the de facto boss at AC Milan given that club owner, media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, is these days totally involved ill politics.
Speaking to journalists last Saturday, Galliani said: "If, in one of our next UEFA Cup games, we were to come across a side that fielded four or five foreigners, we would take action accordingly. We're hardly going to stand by and look on and play with just three foreigners."
Furthermore, Galliani suggested that next season Milan will probably start to pick its team in accordance with the Bosman judgment, saying: "For this season, we'll leave things, as they are and we'll use our common sense from here to the end. But next season, the gloves are off and everyone can do us they think best.
"To my mind, the idea would be to field five foreigners along with six Italians. The latter would be in the majority and that way national identity would be saved."
What is more, Galliani and Milan may have already put" their money on the line. Last week they reportedly secured the services of three Ajax players, 19 year old Patrick Kluivert, 22 year old Edgar Davids and 22 year old Michael Reiziger, all Dutchmen and, as such, EU citizens subject to the Bosman ruling. Given that Milan intend to hold on to at least four of their present foreigners - Dejan Savicevic, George Weah, Marcel Desailly and Zvonimir Boban - then Galliani's threat to play five foreigners looks very real.
Galliani's words and Milan's reported market activity, however, prompted an immediate negative response last Friday from the Italian players' union. Its president Sergio Campana threatened a players' strike if any Italian club broke with the present agreement to name only three players on the 16 player team sheet.
Meanwhile, Bosman linked activity was taking place elsewhere. On the same day as Galliani and Campana were sounding off in Italy, the European Commission was meeting in Brussels with English Premier League chief executive Rick Parry asking him to help set up a soccer "Maastricht Conference". The idea is that the Premier League might "facilitate" a meeting of representatives of the top professional leagues in EU countries with a view to resolving the ever more imminent chaos prompted by the Bosman judgment.
Such a soccer "Maastricht" is likely to consider what legal loopholes may be available to soccer. If the FU could agree to consider soccer an expression of popular culture, equivalent in status to the fine arts, then it might be afforded a "protected" status that would allow it bend EU legislation.
