Blatter hopes treaty will limit foreign players

Updated 15.44 Fri Dec 14 2007

Keywords: spl, sepp blatter, premier league, sport, football

Fifa president Sepp Blatter believes the European Union's Lisbon Treaty could lead to a limit on foreign players in club football.

All 27 EU nations signed the agreement and Blatter is convinced the document paves the way for Fifa to force clubs to use five home-grown players every time they take to the field.

"It does not look good if you have a club in a country and there are no national players on the team" - Sepp Blatter

Blatter said: "You have people like Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, Franz Beckenbauer, Johann Cruyff and Michel Platini all working in the right direction and we are working for the identity of football.

"They have accepted a new treaty in Europe and they discussed the specificity of sport and its statutes are guaranteed. We don't want to fight any laws or authority but we want football to exist as a good family.

"We have to maintain, if not the local idea of a club then at least the national identity of a club.

"It does not look good if you have a club in a country and there are no national players on the team."

Blatter is convinced England's recent failure to qualify for Euro 2008 has brought the issue of foreign players to the top of the agenda.

He added: "This matter has been brought up by the Fifa president two or three years ago, but it has started now. Why? Because something has happened in the motherland of football, England.

"They have not qualified for Euro 2008 and some have said that there are too many foreign players in the league.

"This discussion is going on in the Fifa strategic committee.

"We will have a look at some of these items and, at the next Fifa Congress in Sydney, we will come out with a proposal that six plus five can be, will be and must be accepted by the Fifa Congress."