by Paulo Teixeira on Wednesday, 14 November 2012
A
few weeks back I got a text message from, let’s say, US soccer’s Obama.
It read: “Are you pressing a training compensation claim against Milan?
Do you want me to talk to Umberto?”
I was surprised both with the content of the sms and the time – 7.55 a.m. New York. Who was this Umberto, calling NY so early in the morning to run a check on me?
I googled the name and it popped up: Umberto Gandini, Organizing Director AC Milan, member of FIFA Committee for Club Football and 1st Vice-Chairman of the ECA (European Clubs Association)… Quite a heavyweight, by all standards.
The ECA is the organization that replaced the G-14. The G-14 was founded in September 2000 by 14 leading clubs to provide a unified voice in negotiations with UEFA and FIFA, then disbanded in 2008 and replaced by the ECA.
So, one the most powerful man in football seemed to be worried about my posts on Facebook. David and Goliah in modern times.
The ECA has nowadays 207 members from 53 Associations, all Europeans. What is less known however, is that an ‘organization’ within the organization has been created. Informally, of course. Let me call it ECAT (European Clubs Against Teixeira).
I’ll explain.
About a year ago I posted the case of Kabananga Junior, trained by a small Congolese club called Aigles Verts, which claims 100.000 euros but is yet to collect the training compensation due by RSC Anderlecht – one of the founders of the extinguished G-14. The Belgian club argued that Kabananga’s ‘contract’ in Congo – 250 CFA, that is, 20 cents euro/month – was already a pro one. I exposed that, the big shots from Parc Astrid felt offended and lodged a complaint at FIFA, on the basis of “perjury and defamation”. In the blink of an eye, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee opened a proceeding.
When in June the SWINDLER’S LIST was published – topped by AC Milan, Botafogo FC (R. Preto, Brazil) claiming the amount of 300.000 euros as compensation for the education of the player Sergio Ceregatti - the well dressed executives in Via Turati went nuts. According to an insider, when the story broke AC Milan headquarters resembled Jody Foster’s Panic Room: they did not know what to do and, other than checking with US soccer’s Obama, they frantically consulted Anderlecht for advice.
At the end of the day, AC Milan opted for the easiest juridical pirouette: to ride on Anderlecht’s complaint. A ‘joint-venture’ was then born, both clubs – which budget nearly 300 millions euros /year - decided to take action together. In a matter of a week (!) FIFA allowed AC Milan’s add-on. Nov 20 the case will be ‘judged’ by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, composed of 16 members.
I know two of them. One is the president of an Association which has illegally issued (sold?) at least one agent’s licence; the other runs an Association which allows transfers of players without ITC (International Transfer Certificate). That says a lot about the credibility of this chamber.
CNN’s John Sinnott, who wrote the story “Using Facebook to bounty-hunt football’s ‘disappeared’ players” (shortlisted for Sports Journalist of the Year in the UK), raised the question why the clubs did not go to a civil court on a “defamation/libel complaint” rather than take up the matter with FIFA.
Can't answer to that.
Now, pay attention to this: Aigles Verts’ complaint was lodged in October 2011. Officers at the Glass House in Zurich candidly maintain that ‘within 3 to 5 weeks a case is opened’. I checked with FIFA last month, that is, one year after. The officer in charge (the third one handling it) told me that she had just received the documentation and was not at all familiar with it, but she would come back to me as soon as. Of course, she did not.
Bottom line: Aigles Verts and Botafogo are neither AC Milan or Anderlecht. And my name is Teixeira, not Gandini.
I was surprised both with the content of the sms and the time – 7.55 a.m. New York. Who was this Umberto, calling NY so early in the morning to run a check on me?
I googled the name and it popped up: Umberto Gandini, Organizing Director AC Milan, member of FIFA Committee for Club Football and 1st Vice-Chairman of the ECA (European Clubs Association)… Quite a heavyweight, by all standards.
The ECA is the organization that replaced the G-14. The G-14 was founded in September 2000 by 14 leading clubs to provide a unified voice in negotiations with UEFA and FIFA, then disbanded in 2008 and replaced by the ECA.
So, one the most powerful man in football seemed to be worried about my posts on Facebook. David and Goliah in modern times.
The ECA has nowadays 207 members from 53 Associations, all Europeans. What is less known however, is that an ‘organization’ within the organization has been created. Informally, of course. Let me call it ECAT (European Clubs Against Teixeira).
I’ll explain.
About a year ago I posted the case of Kabananga Junior, trained by a small Congolese club called Aigles Verts, which claims 100.000 euros but is yet to collect the training compensation due by RSC Anderlecht – one of the founders of the extinguished G-14. The Belgian club argued that Kabananga’s ‘contract’ in Congo – 250 CFA, that is, 20 cents euro/month – was already a pro one. I exposed that, the big shots from Parc Astrid felt offended and lodged a complaint at FIFA, on the basis of “perjury and defamation”. In the blink of an eye, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee opened a proceeding.
When in June the SWINDLER’S LIST was published – topped by AC Milan, Botafogo FC (R. Preto, Brazil) claiming the amount of 300.000 euros as compensation for the education of the player Sergio Ceregatti - the well dressed executives in Via Turati went nuts. According to an insider, when the story broke AC Milan headquarters resembled Jody Foster’s Panic Room: they did not know what to do and, other than checking with US soccer’s Obama, they frantically consulted Anderlecht for advice.
At the end of the day, AC Milan opted for the easiest juridical pirouette: to ride on Anderlecht’s complaint. A ‘joint-venture’ was then born, both clubs – which budget nearly 300 millions euros /year - decided to take action together. In a matter of a week (!) FIFA allowed AC Milan’s add-on. Nov 20 the case will be ‘judged’ by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, composed of 16 members.
I know two of them. One is the president of an Association which has illegally issued (sold?) at least one agent’s licence; the other runs an Association which allows transfers of players without ITC (International Transfer Certificate). That says a lot about the credibility of this chamber.
CNN’s John Sinnott, who wrote the story “Using Facebook to bounty-hunt football’s ‘disappeared’ players” (shortlisted for Sports Journalist of the Year in the UK), raised the question why the clubs did not go to a civil court on a “defamation/libel complaint” rather than take up the matter with FIFA.
Can't answer to that.
Now, pay attention to this: Aigles Verts’ complaint was lodged in October 2011. Officers at the Glass House in Zurich candidly maintain that ‘within 3 to 5 weeks a case is opened’. I checked with FIFA last month, that is, one year after. The officer in charge (the third one handling it) told me that she had just received the documentation and was not at all familiar with it, but she would come back to me as soon as. Of course, she did not.
Bottom line: Aigles Verts and Botafogo are neither AC Milan or Anderlecht. And my name is Teixeira, not Gandini.
