Blatter Wants Points Deductions For Guilty Clubs

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has expressed his desire to introduce points docking as a punishment for teams found guilty of breaking football rules, in the wake of recent allegations regarding illegal transfer activity.

Blatter suggested the measure could be imposed as sanctions against the tapping up of young players, amongst other offences.

He stated: ‘My personal view is that it is right to say that points should be deducted for offences by clubs. National associations and leagues must have the courage to do that, then things will stop.’

When quizzed on his views on Chelsea’s transfer ban after FIFA found them guilty of irregularities over the signing of former Lens teenager Gael Kakuta, Blatter broadened the debate to suggest point deductions as a deterrent.

He suggested such offences as racist chants and crowd riots could fall into the bracket of offences punishable by the measure.

‘It should be a way of punishing clubs in my view. Take the instances of racism, you can give £100,000, £200,000 fines but there is always someone who will pay that but if you take away points, that will be an example.

‘It hurts but I would be in favour of points deductions. When you have crowd trouble it is too easy to say games should be played in closed stadiums; points loss is better.’

However, the most prevalent issue remains that of the movement of young players between clubs, which resulted in Chelsea’s transfer ban until January 2011 and has seen a number of other clubs come forward with claims of their own regarding the loss of young talent to other clubs.

Blatter believes a number of clubs are now fearful of FIFA’s new stance.

‘We have now had a case (Chelsea) to analyse. It has been done by a committee with a judge and representatives of many clubs. That has now been settled.

‘There are clubs now who are looking at their books, some have even announced that a certain player has no contract with them and he is an amateur.

‘They have done this to try to make sure that the player does not come under the jurisdiction of congress.’

Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini have been vociferous in their denunciation of what they have described as ‘child slavery’ and the two bodies are seeking to close loopholes under European Union law that allow 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to move throughout Europe.

Continued Blatter: ‘There is an age limit in the FIFA statute that stops a player being transferred internationally until he is 18. The European Union is different, it is 16.

‘We now have a committee where each case is dealt with individually to see if a transfer can be allowed or not, it is the start of greater control of our game.’