A blog from Skysports
A malingering sense of paranoia has been stoked further by a feeling amongst the English elite that Fifa and Uefa are somehow in cahoots in a bid to prise corpulent and greedy Premier League fingers off the coveted UEFA Champions League trophy. Fifa president Sepp Blatter and his Uefa counterpart Michel Platini enjoy a long-standing friendship and it is the latter's germ of an idea, with regards stopping young talent being poached from indigenous surrounds, that appears to have been put into practise by the all-powerful world governing body. At this rate Chelsea's Pensioners will no longer be reduced to the stands.
In this instance, though, it would appear the conspiracy theorists are little different to those that insist Elvis is in fact still very much in the building. Just five months ago Swiss club Sion were meted out the exact same punishment for the manner in which they lured Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary from Al Ahly in similar circumstances. On the surface, the only thing "extraordinary" about Fifa's sanctions is that it is a leading English club penalised rather than a middling Swiss outfit.
That it seems implausible Fifa have acted with such steel against one of the sport's most powerful clubs says much about the shifted power in the game from those that run it to those that pay for it.
The Premier League's prising of young talent from across the globe is hardly a new occurrence, with English Academies no longer the preserve of locally sourced talent. Football is a business like any other and just as you don't expect Tesco to source their produce solely from the British Isles, top clubs have long-since scoured the market place both home and abroad. Like beleaguered farmers, those clubs that lose players they have reared with care often complain of being cheated by the food chain's top dogs. It is here where accusations of 'poaching' become widespread.
When Kakuta arrived in West London in 2007 he did so with a reputation for being one of Europe's most exciting young talents, but also with a warning from Lens. Having been at the club since the age of nine the French club were loath to allow him to leave before the fruits of considerable labour and development had expressed itself at first team level. As such the club had an agreement in place, ratified by the French Football Association, that Kakuta would sign a professional contract on his turning 16.
In today's Independent then Lens managing director Francis Collado recounts a meeting with Peter Kenyon in which he warned their agreement with Kakuta was watertight and legally-binding. When he asked his Chelsea counterpart for the transfer fee he knew Lens were entitled for their teenage prodigy, Kenyon reportedly replied: "That's not possible."
Where this deal differs to that of Manchester United's signing of Federico Macheda, which Lazio president Claudio Lotito described as being not dissimilar to the exchange in a 'cattle market', is Italian clubs cannot tie players to contracts until they are 18. In France, players cannot sign professional contracts until they are 16 so instead sign a bridging agreement - an aspirant contract - with their clubs. Once these contracts have been ratified by the French Football Association, as was the case with Kakuta, they become legally binding.
Lens president of 21 years Gervais Martel could barely contain his glee as he said: "It's a logical punishment for a club that goes around trying to turn the heads of players through their intermediaries. It was a feeble amount that Chelsea offered us for this young player when you consider his potential. The clubs must respect the rules of other countries."
Fifa's punishment has led to talk of the proverbial can of worms being opened as if such an event would lead to some cataclysmic end of the world. But is this chain of events not a good thing?
Manchester United's legal team will likely be looking over the transfer of Paul Pogba from Le Havre with sweaty palms; given the French club have said they are pursuing a "very similar case" to that put forward by Lens. The protection and preservation of the world's less illustrious clubs is paramount to football's continued growth. It is these more obscure clubs that provide roots to a game that must constantly remind itself its origins are sport not money.
Poaching or 'tapping up' has been accepted to such an extent in football it's in danger of becoming almost quaint; as much as part of the culture as replica scarves or rattles. If Fifa want to slice open football's carcass and look at its rotting organs - be that in the form of diving, poaching or any kind of corruption - I say good luck to them.
http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,16708_5537338,00.html
