Apologies up front for anyone annoyed that their month-long football respite is being so rudely interrupted by an HR website, but this is about employment more than football. Honest.
Chelsea's chief executive Peter Kenyon has defended the dominance of the big four clubs in the Barclays Premier League (Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are the only ones who win anything (sorry Portsmouth)) and he's outlined his club's opposition to the football governing body Fifa's 6+5 concept.
Essentially Fifa believes clubs should be limited to fielding five foreign players at a time, the other six being from the club's home country. This should help foster the country's home-grown talent. (England's poor international record and the foreign-player-dominated Premier League's unrivaled success is an example of what they're trying to avoid)
The European Commission (EC) has dismissed the plan as discriminatory and illegal however...
"The Commission is showing a red card to the 6+5 rule. Professional football players are workers, therefore the principle of nondiscrimination and the right to free movement apply to them. The Bosman case was very clear on this issue. The 6+5 rule would constitute direct discrimination on the basis of nationality, which is unacceptable to the Commission."
Kenyon accepts that one of the big reasons he's against 6+5 is that Chelsea is one of the Big Four and it would affect them greatest.
So should football get special dispensation? Have a little vote and comment below...
