FanHouse FIFA

FIFA president Sepp Blatter should not have to remind clubs that they are obligated to release all players aged 23 and under for the Olympics. That's what he did today, though, after several European clubs attempted to hold back big name players from the competition.

Barcelona, for example, insists that it will not allow Lionel Messi to go to Beijing, because the Olympic soccer competition not a FIFA-sanctioned event. They reportedly have the backing of La Liga on this matter. Likewise, Werder Bremen is attempting to hold back world-class striker Diego from Brazil, and Schalke 04 has no plans to release Brazilian right back Rafinha. Both those players, however, are with the Brazilian national team in defiance of their clubs' wishes.

Blatter's statement comes just days after Real Madrid pulled Robinho from the Brazilian squad after discovering he had a groin pull. Robinho, however, is 24, so Madrid is under no obligation to release him, though the move didn't make the Brazilian Football Confederation any less angry.

This saber-rattling could continue right up until the opening ceremonies, though I suspect the clubs will eventually relent. What's Barca going to do, bench their biggest young star in retaliation? Argentina and Brazil are serious about winning gold, and they're not about to let any Europeans stand in their way.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter should not have to remind clubs that they are obligated to release all players aged 23 and under for the Olympics. That's what he did today, though, after several European clubs attempted to hold back big name players from the competition.

Barcelona, for example, insists that it will not allow Lionel Messi to go to Beijing, because the Olympic soccer competition not a FIFA-sanctioned event. They reportedly have the backing of La Liga on this matter. Likewise, Werder Bremen is attempting to hold back world-class striker Diego from Brazil, and Schalke 04 has no plans to release Brazilian right back Rafinha. Both those players, however, are with the Brazilian national team in defiance of their clubs' wishes.

Blatter's statement comes just days after Real Madrid pulled Robinho from the Brazilian squad after discovering he had a groin pull. Robinho, however, is 24, so Madrid is under no obligation to release him, though the move didn't make the Brazilian Football Confederation any less angry.

This saber-rattling could continue right up until the opening ceremonies, though I suspect the clubs will eventually relent. What's Barca going to do, bench their biggest young star in retaliation? Argentina and Brazil are serious about winning gold, and they're not about to let any Europeans stand in their way.

Could someone explain to me why FIFA president Sepp Blatter felt it was necessary to comment about the Cristiano Ronaldo situation? Doesn't he have bigger fish to fry, like overseeing South Africa's readiness for the 2010 World Cup, or rigging the next FIFA vote to make sure he's re-elected? Or are those small things when compared to ensuring that Ronaldo gets what he wants?

It's not just that he felt the need to say something, either. It's what he actually said:

"There's too much modern slavery, in transferring players or buying players. We are trying now to intervene in such cases. The reaction to the Bosman law is to make long-lasting contracts to keep the players, and then if he wants to leave there is only one solution, he has to pay his contract."

"Modern slavery." Is he serious?

Ever since the 2010 FIFA World Cup was awarded to South Africa, FIFA officials have had to dismiss suggestion that the country's facilities would not be ready to host the event. Those suggestions are sure to get larger now.

According to Matt Scott of The Guardian, FIFA is building an $800 million contingency fund against the possible collapse of the 2010 World Cup. The reason? Insurance companies don't want to back the event. A spokesman for German insurance firm Munich Re went so far as to say that the grounds in South Africa are too run down to host the event and that there are serious concerns about security, transportation and the nation's political climate.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has suggested in the past that the 2010 World Cup would only be moved in the event of a natural disaster and that the facilities would be ready. I suppose we'll find out how ready they are by 2009, when South Africa is scheduled to host the Confederations Cup. That competition is considered by many to be a litmus test for South Africa's World Cup preparedness. If something goes wrong there, the negative buzz surrounding the next World Cup will only get louder.

Unless you're from Scotland or are one of the dozens (maybe hundreds!) of people who support Wigan Athletic, you probably have no idea who Andy Webster is. You will. Webster just won a court case that could change the transfer market for soccer players forever.

The jist of the case is this -- Webster quit Scottish club Hearts of Midlothian and moved to Wigan in May 2006. However, he had played only three years of his four-year contract with Hearts, who took the case to FIFA and argued that Webster violated one of their transfer regulations. A FIFA ruling awarded the club £625,000, but Hearts wanted £4.6 million for him in the summer transfer window.

So they took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an arbitration body set up by the International Olympic Committee to settle disputes such as this. CAS ruled in favor of Webster, saying he could leave Hearts if he paid off the remaining value of his contract -- which was a mere £150,000.

As a result of this ruling, any player under the age of 28 can buy out the remainder of their contract after three years. Any player 28 or older can buy it out in only two years. And the implications of this are massive.