APPENDIX 11
Memorandum from the Scottish Professional
Footballers Association (WP20)
Background
For around 20 years the respective Governing
Bodies and the Players Associations have worked with the Overseas
Labour Section to develop a workable set of criteria for the employment
of overseas footballers who are not EEA nationals. The criteria
also allowed a degree of flexibility which enabled the professionals
in the game to have a chance to influence the quality of the professional
player who was seeking to enter Great Britain.
We were therefore devastated when the Department
of Employment and Education introduced rather hurriedly the new
Work Permit Criteria on 2 July 1999 without proper consultation
(which was certainly the case in the Scottish context). We are
obviously happy to be allowed an opportunity to express our opinions
to the Select Committee in the hope that the Government will adopt
a much more listening approach to this very important matter,
when or if any reassessment takes place. Listed below is what
we feel will be the consequences of the new criteria:
1. Salary Information
In professional football it is generally expected
that if a club rates a player highly this will be reflected by
his salary level. The removal of information relating to salary
will increase the suspicion that clubs will wish to use the new
criteria to sign "squad players", therefore clearly
displacing resident labour and of course obtaining non-EEA nationals
at a much cheaper rate than a GB national.
The Overseas Labour Section issues work permits
to "international players of the highest calibre". It
is therefore imperative that clubs offer players that they rate
highly, wages commensurate with that status.
2. Impact on The Scottish National Team
At the time of writing 125 non-Scots are registered
with the Scottish Premier League out of a total registration number
of 450. The vast majority of these 125 are in the first team squads
of our SPL league clubs; we therefore can conclude that around
half of every first team squad in Scotland will be ineligible
to play for the Scottish national team.
The SPFA accepted the Bosman decision and at
this juncture recognises that limits cannot be imposed on EEA
nationals who wish to play in this country, but we strongly urge
the Department of Employment and Education to consider what further
damage it may do to the Scottish football team's international
credibility if more non-EEA players are allowed to play in this
country.
Recently Craig Brown, the Scottish International
Team Manager, has had to select four players who were not even
first team regulars for their club teams in Scotland or England.
International football is one of the few areas of Scottish life
where the whole country unites behind the team; club football
for a variety of reasons unfortunately does not bring the same
sense of togetherness. Young Scottish players, particularly the
ones who mature a bit later in football terms, need opportunities
to progress. The new criteria does not help this process.
3. Annual Assessment of Work Permit Players
Under the old system, but not the new, the football
authorities and the Overseas Labour Section worked closely on
a yearly basis to assess the performance of players who were granted
work permits. Invariably the club who wishes to sign a player
would praise the player for having exceptional talents, the annual
review allowed us the opportunity to ascertain whether or not
the player's real abilities concurred with the written submissions
from the club.
The removal of this assessment, to allow work
permits to run for the duration of the contract in the new arrangement,
will therefore encourage clubs to sign players, even although
they are not convinced that they will make a significant contribution
to the Scottish game.
4. European Union Situation
Recently the SPFA
hosted the F.I.F. Pro Congress (The International Association
of Players' Unions) in Edinburgh. The common theme that emerged
from the EEA members of F.I.F. Pro was that the foreign player
problem was not confined to Great Britain, but was evident throughout
all those European countries who economically are the power house
of world football.
The SPFA recognises that many other members
of the European Union have far more liberal regulations concerning
the issuing of work permits to footballers. This of course allows
much freer access to these countries. Clubs in Scotland have felt
disadvantaged in comparison to Italy, Spain, Belgium etc. But
we feel rather than lowering our standards we should be convincing
the European Union of the importance of adopting our standards
and the need for our own industries to cultivate young players.
5. Independent Review Panel
Although the SPFA
are involved in the Work Permit Appeal system, we do it with great
reservations. In practice under the old criteria very few work
permits were granted to players outside the Scottish Premier League;
we are now told that "players of the highest calibre who
are able to make a significant contribution to the development
of the British game at the highest level" will be eligible
to sign for clubs in the second and third division of Scottish
football. Without being disrespectful to these clubs, it is highly
unlikely that players involved in the category that we have mentioned
could be satisfied financially by clubs in these divisions. But
unfortunately the interpretation of the new criteria applies to
all professional teams in Scotland ie the four divisions.
In conclusion we feel that the new criteria
will not help the development of players in Scottish football.
A high degree of expertise had been built up over the years by
the Overseas Labour Section and football administrators, and while
we recognise the Government's need for transparency in the workings
of Government and its Departments, we feel the new criteria are
far too lax and do not protect the interest of the Scottish game.
The Appeal system is structured in such a way
that it is almost impossible to turn down a work permit application
if that player has played in 75 per cent of the competitive matches
in the last two years for his country, therefore rendering the
FIFA rankings list to be almost obsolete.
Scottish football has many foreign players who
add to the excitement of the Scottish game, but where we can have
control we should ensure only the very best non-EEA nationals
are allowed to play in this country. We owe it to our young players.
The SPFA is also against the system whereby
clubs are able to sign non-EEA nationals on loan from clubs abroad.
This also has a damaging effect on the development of British
players as there is no degree of permanency about that type of
move with the player's registration still being held by the club
abroad. If the player is of sufficient talent to enhance our game
then he should not be the subject of any kind of trial period
and should be good enough to be signed on a permanent basis.
Scottish Professional Footballers Association
October 1999
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