Well that settles that then. Fair play to Uefa for making a strong stand on this one.
Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have been drawn to play against each other in the Champions League semi-finals but a fairly farcical situation that arose this week involving Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois looks as if won’t materialise after all thanks to the intervention of Uefa.
The 21-year old is currently on loan with the Spanish side from Chelsea for the third successive season, but reports this week suggested that Atletico would have to pay Chelsea approximately €3 million per game if they wanted Courtois to face his parent side due to a clause in the Belgian’s contract.
“The problem if we got Chelsea would be whether Courtois can play or not,” Atletico President Enrique Cerezo said earlier this week.
“It is possible that he won’t be able to play. Is that in the contract? Yes, of course. I imagine that if he plays, it will need a big quantity of money [to be paid].”
Whether Atletico would have been prepared to cough up a fairly ridiculous amount of money to play a player who has been with them for almost three seasons in just two games is irrelevant now, however, because Uefa have stepped in, saying that “any private contract between clubs which might function in such a way as to influence who a club fields in a match is null, void and unenforceable so far as UEFA is concerned”.
The European football governing body released a statement this morning on the ‘integrity of competitions’ which read: “In response to media reports referring to the situation of Club Atlético de Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, UEFA would like to reiterate its position.
“The integrity of sporting competition is a fundamental principle for UEFA.
“Both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations contain clear provisions which strictly forbid any club to exert, or attempt to exert, any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match.
“It follows that any provision in a private contract between clubs which might function in such a way as to influence who a club fields in a match is null, void and unenforceable so far as UEFA is concerned.
“Furthermore, any attempt to enforce such a provision would be a clear violation of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and would therefore be sanctioned accordingly.”
There are many commentators who feel that Uefa’s stance on the matter should be replicated in the Premier League, where on-loan players are ineligible to face their parent clubs, but for ensuring that the Courtois situation isn’t allowed to materialise and setting a precedent for the future, Uefa deserve plenty of kudos in this case.
