Third-party ownership of players should be regulated not banned - Spanish league chief

MADRID (Reuters) - The third-party ownership (TPO) of players should be regulated by FIFA and not banned, according to the president of Spain's professional league (LFP), who fears ending the practice could damage La Liga.





Outlawing TPO, already prohibited in countries including England, France and Poland but widespread in the likes of Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina, would make La Liga "less competitive", LFP president Javier Tebas said on Friday.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced last month that soccer's world governing body had agreed to ban TPO, when the transfer rights of players are wholly or partially owned by the footballer himself or a company instead of the player's club, following pressure from their European counterpart UEFA.

A working group has been set up to implement the ban, which will come into effect following a yet-to-be-defined "transitional period".

"The (Spanish) league does not follow the line set out by UEFA and FIFA," Tebas told a breakfast event in Madrid organised by Spanish news agency Europa Press.

"It's complicated to change the situation but other leagues support us," Tebas added.

"The funds are not slave traders, as (UEFA president Michel) Platini says. They should be regulated, not banned."

Platini, a former France and Juventus midfielder, is one of the most outspoken critics of TPO, which is also strongly opposed by World Players Association FIFPro.

"I have been constantly warning for years that this practice, which is becoming increasingly widespread, is a danger to our sport," Platini said in March.

"It threatens the integrity of our competitions, damages football's image, poses a long-term threat to clubs' finances and even raises questions about human dignity.

"Increasingly, players are owned by opaque companies based in tax havens and controlled by some unknown agent or investment fund."





(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Toby Davis)


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