Moreover, there are negatives for the layers themselves too. David Dein, former chief executive of Arsenal likened the third-party ownership system to slavery saying that the players get even less say in where they play. Plus whilst players fully owned by clubs might have contracts to see out players owned by companies are not limited to contracts, they are owned beyond the length of their contracts at a club.
Another problem with the system is the anonymity of the third parties that own the players. A player could be, unknown to the public, part owned by the owner of a rival club to that which the player s employed by. Therefore there would be the possibility of that owner influencing the performance of his player against the club he owns
Compromise
In the end it may not be up to the Premier League to decide whether we continue with the current rules or not. If Dupont, or any other lawyer, decides to take it to court it could go above the heads of those controlling the English game; but whichever way we end up going certain decisions need to be made. If we are to choose, or are forced to accept, third-party ownership then we must ensure that there can be no anonymity amongst those owning stakes in players, and there must be rules preventing club owners, or those involved in clubs, from taking part in part-owning players.
If we refuse to change our current laws then two things must happen: the Premier League must find a way to help clubs like Everton, who have little spending power, to find ways to either compete or diminish the spending power of the top clubs. Secondly we must ensure that punishment for breaking these rules is consistent. Neil Warnock has been on both the beneficial and detrimental side of the third-party rules. Tevez’s Old Trafford goal sent his side down in 2007 but just last season QPR were aided in their promotion by Alejandro Faurlin, their central midfielder who was part owned by a third party. Both players made the difference between Premier League and Championship participation for their rivals yet the fines were completely different. And, unsurprisingly, Warnock could see no hypocrisy in the matter. Whatever decision is made we need to ensure that modifications are made to the chosen system, for neither of them are right.
Follow Hamish on Twitter @H_Mackay
Written by Hamish Mackay for Footballfancast.com
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.