‘You can’t make footballers stay or play after June 30’ warns sports lawyer

That looks inevitable unless the leagues are unable to avoid abandoning the 2019-20 campaign because of the coronavirus.

FIFA have talked about trying to legislate so contracts and loans are automatically elongated if seasons are, but Simon Leaf, head of sport at Mishcon de Reya, has warned this will only be possible in England if the players agree.

Former Liverpool and Tottenham director of football Damien Comolli thinks it could throw up insurance problems for those that do.

“Under English law, it wouldn’t be possible to force players to continue to play beyond the June 30 date, which has received so much attention recently, nor would it be possible force them into taking wage cuts or deferrals,” warned Leaf.

“For now, it looks as though clubs will continue to voluntarily ask players to take such steps. However, clubs, players and agents will be all too aware there are strict FIFA regulations that apply internationally, which prevent clubs from putting pressure on players in this way. We could end up seeing clubs not only facing censure from the football authorities but also players legitimately being able to walk away from their contracts and joining other clubs early.”

League Two clubs are set to discuss the issues today, though no decisions are expected.

Comolli laid out another scenario which could complicate the resumption of matches, which the leagues expect to happen behind closed doors once the Government has approved it.

“Sorry if I’m being dramatic but let’s assume the Premier League starts and suddenly (a player) catches the virus and then dies or gets severe lung damage and he can’t play football anymore, what’s going to happen?” he asked. “Is the player going to say my contract ended on June 30, you forced me to play?”

The Football League is working on a model which could see the season – play-offs and all – concluded in 56 days. It has warned its clubs not to expect to be allowed to resume collective training until at least May 16, and perceived wisdom has it that another two or three weeks of “mini-pre-season” would be needed before competitive football could restart, so even in this scenario the season would extend beyond June. One proposal is for the Premier League to be finished in a 35-day window.

Typically, contracts tend to get shorter lower down the football pyramid, so it is no surprise League Two Bradford City have the most players out of contract this summer of all the Yorkshire clubs, with Hope Akpan, Jermaine Anderson, Danny Devine, Clayton Donaldson, Jordan Gibson, Adam Henley, Zeli Ismail, Shay McCartan, Kelvin Mellor, Dylan Mottley-Henry, Richard O’Donnell, Jake Reeves, Joe Riley and Chris Taylor set to become free agents in July.

Gaetano Berardi is the only senior player out of contract at Leeds United, the least affected, but they have Ben White, Jack Harrison, Jean-Kevin Augustin, Ilan Meslier and Helder Costa on loan.

Leaf warned other contracts could be affected too. The Premier League’s record-breaking broadcast deals with companies around the world are the biggest concern.

“Many sponsors (and potentially external broadcasters) may find that they have the right to walk away from lucrative deals if the lockdown persists into May – as effectively, many of these agreements will contain longstop dates that allow the paying party to walk away if they haven’t been able to enjoy their rights for an extended period of time,” he said.

“One of the other shadows that is hanging over many clubs is the spectre of breaching strict, league-specific financial fair play rules – which, while UEFA has indicated are likely to be relaxed for those competing in UEFA competitions, are still applicable to those in the Premier League and Football League.

“We have seen several clubs reverse their decision on using the Government’s furlough scheme and instead rely on further cash injections from their owners, but these clubs will need to tread carefully until the Premier League and Football League categorically confirm the FFP rules will be relaxed at a domestic level. They are effectively trapped between the rock of doing the right thing by staff and players by continuing to pay salaries and the hard place being a potential fine or points deduction.”

Comolli believes FFP will have an impact on the nature of deals done in the transfer market.

“An agent was saying the other day only three clubs in the Premier League will be able to spend money,” he said. “If that’s the case I think the transfer window will be very different.
“We might see swaps, we might see loans and we are going to a see a massive decrease in transfer fees and activity – at least transfers involving money.”

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