October 22, 2022
The brief from today:
FIFA to implement clearing house
At a meeting in New Zealand FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, announced that football’s governing body will set up a clearing house meant to monitor the transfer market. Operations for these audits will be based in Paris, and the focus of operations will be the lack of adequate funds received by clubs who develop players at an early age. The massive transfer fees witnessed over recent years are becoming more commonplace, but acquisitions that often go unnoticed involve youth team graduates that are recruited by larger clubs before they sign professional contracts with their original team. Many times a younger player will get promoted to the senior side of their club, and their performances will then catch the eye of bigger clubs prompting a transfer. In cases where the player in question is still on a youth contract, however, the buying club is only meant to pay a developmental fee rather than a transfer fee. This stipulation is meant to compensate the original club for the investment made in the player bringing him up through the ranks including: training, boarding etc. While this requirement is known, it hasn’t been something FIFA were able to enforce, and as a result development teams were either not justly compensated, or sometimes overlooked altogether. According to Infantino, the result of such practices has meant development clubs have only received between $60 million to $70 million of the $400 million they were owed in compensation. The new clearing house is meant to scrutinize such oversight, and is another approach FIFA is taking to get involved in policing the transfer market. At the last check, football’s worldwide transfer dealings are valued around $7 billion, and FIFA has previously got tried to regulate things like agent commission fees. This latest action, if handled effectively, should be a positive thing for the sport because it will help increase the budgets and value of the smaller clubs doing the development work.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, announced the launching of a clearing house to monitor transfers
Marseille fan trouble escalates
Crowd trouble in France has been steadily rising since last season with multiple clubs on the receiving end of stadium closures as a result. Marseille is one of the sides that has failed to keep their fans in check, and there have been multiple incidents involving clashes between rival supporters. These skirmishes haven’t been isolated to Ligue 1 matches either, as major violence was on display earlier this season when Marseille played Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League. UEFA’s investigation into that incident uncovered some horrific details that resulted in the French side being ordered to play two home matches behind closed doors. The club reviewed the report and promptly decided not to appeal, and now a major reason that approach was taken has been discovered. One Marseille fan has been charged with attempted murder following their intentional throwing of a flare directly at a Frankfurt supporter. The victim, who is said to be 65, narrowly escaped death by “millimeters” according to Marseille president, Pablo Longoria. Having seen the images of the German fan, as well as UEFA’s full report, Longoria held a meeting with fans to discuss the issue. The Spaniard executive, who is respected in the sport for his ability to build high performing teams, made it explicit that the behavior of the club’s supporters must improve. He went on to say that if reckless conduct persisted, and the club get banned form European competition, he would leave his role. As for the fans, they are convinced the fault isn’t theirs, in fact they believe the security at the Stade Velodrome is the problem. According to them, there are far too many unruly people being granted access to the venue—specifically in the away section. Whether they are accurate is debatable, but the club now plans to work even harder on security measures at the Velodrome after recent events.
Marseille president, Pablo Longoria, had choice words for the club’s fans following recent crowd violence