The proposed introduction of a salary cap on Nationwide League football
players and the G14 group of Europe’s elite teams may be illegal.
The precarious nature of football finances has prompted the Nationwide
League chairman to reconsider the amount it pays top stars by imposing a wage
cap.
Europe’s top 14 clubs have also agreed to impose a cap by 2005, in which no
more than 70 per cent of turnover could be used on players wages.
However, Owen Eastwood, a sports specialist at law firm Lewis Silkin, believes
the salary cap is only enforceable if it has been agreed by the union and is
included as part of a collective bargaining agreement.
"If there is no collective bargaining agreement, it is vulnerable to a
legal challenge," he said.
