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New agent rules delayed
England - 27 April, 2007
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The English FA have delayed by four months new regulations for football agents, backing down a bit after protestation by the Association of Football Agents.
The new rules were to be effective on May 1, in time for the opening of the next transfer window.
But the AFA were considering legal action, and the FA decided to wait until September 1 to enforce the new policy.
The delay only adds to concerns that the rules to clamp down on rouge agents have been watered down. The FA still holds its ground that "there is no intention of abandoning the key principles included in the new regulations."
The FA wants to ban dual representation - where an agent acts for more than one party in a transfer deal - and allow payments by a club to an agent only as a deduction from the player's salary.
"We believe that the game's interests are best served by taking this course of action," said FA director of governance Jonathan Hall. "Our primary objective remains to bring in a strong set of regulations which build on the existing ones and address concerns in this area of the game."
The Premier League and Sports Minister Richard Caborn backed the FA.
"These proposals, finalised in structure last December, are an integral part of the future good governance of the game, which we consider to be both legally right and sustainable," read a statement from the Premier League. "We believe the FA is right to resist the Association of Football Agents and we support their efforts to ensure these new rules are implemented as intended; any amendments should not impact on what the football authorities are trying to achieve."
The AFA expects major changes. Mel Stein, a specialist sports lawyer who is one of the point men for the AFA, accused the FA last week of acting in a "dictatorial" manner.
"They need to engage in a proper process of consultancy with us rather than having a dialogue through our lawyers," said Stein. "They cocked up from the word go. We asked to see a copy of the new rules but they never sent them to us before they announced them."
The new regulations amend rules introduced in January 2006.
The new rules were to be effective on May 1, in time for the opening of the next transfer window.
But the AFA were considering legal action, and the FA decided to wait until September 1 to enforce the new policy.
The delay only adds to concerns that the rules to clamp down on rouge agents have been watered down. The FA still holds its ground that "there is no intention of abandoning the key principles included in the new regulations."
The FA wants to ban dual representation - where an agent acts for more than one party in a transfer deal - and allow payments by a club to an agent only as a deduction from the player's salary.
"We believe that the game's interests are best served by taking this course of action," said FA director of governance Jonathan Hall. "Our primary objective remains to bring in a strong set of regulations which build on the existing ones and address concerns in this area of the game."
The Premier League and Sports Minister Richard Caborn backed the FA.
"These proposals, finalised in structure last December, are an integral part of the future good governance of the game, which we consider to be both legally right and sustainable," read a statement from the Premier League. "We believe the FA is right to resist the Association of Football Agents and we support their efforts to ensure these new rules are implemented as intended; any amendments should not impact on what the football authorities are trying to achieve."
The AFA expects major changes. Mel Stein, a specialist sports lawyer who is one of the point men for the AFA, accused the FA last week of acting in a "dictatorial" manner.
"They need to engage in a proper process of consultancy with us rather than having a dialogue through our lawyers," said Stein. "They cocked up from the word go. We asked to see a copy of the new rules but they never sent them to us before they announced them."
The new regulations amend rules introduced in January 2006.
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