Dear Editor,
Mike Nattrass MEP accuses the EU of meddling with football in the light
of the Belet report that was voted on in the European Parliament last
week. In fact the opposite is the case. Indeed, MEPs blocked the parts
of the report that called for new EU agencies.
Like it or not, football is affected by existing legislation at national
and European level, such as competition law, that was adopted for other
purposes. The report was based on the premise that football authorities
should be given extra lee-way or exemptions from these laws to help them
to take measures to tackle the problems facing football, such as UEFA's
requirement that clubs must have a number of home-grown players and the
growing financial gap between rich and poor clubs.
The Belet report is about helping football to govern itself. For Mr
Nattrass and his Europhobic ilk to say otherwise is misleading and
disingenuous.
Yours,
Richard Corbett
Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
Blenheim Terrace, Leeds |