On May 21, 2005, Frenchman Patrick Vieira held the glorious FA Cup trophy in front of Arsenal’s 35,000 fans at Cardiff’s monstrous Millennium Stadium. The Gunners, one of England’s clubs with an admirable history, started only one English player that afternoon against Manchester United. German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, Ivorian defender Kolo Toure, Swiss defender Philippe Senderos, Cameroonian defender Lauren, Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas, French midfielder Patrick Vieira, Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva, French left winger Robert Pires, Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp and Spanish striker Jose Antonio Reyes were the ten non-Englishman that claimed a decisive penalty-kick victory over the Red Devils from Manchester. Ashley Cole was the lone defender whose passport reflected the country in which he played in.
Restrictions on nationalities of players would harm the Premier League’s reputation and taint the laws of employment set by European governance.
The hyper-injection of foreign talent in the English Premier League has raised questions among influential members in the international soccer community. Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter, presidents of UEFA and FIFA, continue to express their discontent regarding clubs losing their national identities. As much as it brings about a mild cringe when reading about these powerful men’s claims, I welcome their philosophies because the laws set by the European Union will most certainly protect this tragic prospect from coming about. Football clubs are establishments that should be concerned about player development first and foremost.
Although Chelsea were the first English team to field an entirely foreign starting 11, Arsenal are frequently used as an example of an “abuse” of foreign talent. Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger, has been defiant on this issue.
“I feel I am responsible for quality and to develop players,” Wenger said.
“But I cannot say to a player, 'You are good enough but you cannot play because you don't come from the right place'.”
I believe Wenger’s statements are extremely valid. The game is based in the responsibility to produce the highest quality performances possible. To prohibit a player from moving to a club for the sole reason that he is not English would be tarnishing the league’s reputation.
“The purpose is to push the level of the game as high as we can to give people entertainment,” Wenger said.
“"It would kill the Premiership at the moment for being the best league in the world, certainly. Why? Because you can see a massive reduction in the quality if you have less choice, whether it is at Bolton or at Arsenal. To choose between 200 million players or 50 million players, it is worse. It is as simple as that.”
The English League is considered the strongest because of its financial and marketing success, which in turn brought world-class talent from all over the globe to the league. If England’s best players are remaining in the league, than they are also benefiting because they are playing with great players. They will develop more quickly the way the system is now. The point is this: if an English player is good enough for Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United than he will play.
Martin Samuel of The Daily Mail outlined major cup winners and the amount of English players who were in action each night. When Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005 in Istanbul, they started just two Englishmen (Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher). Manchester United won the Champions League last season with six Englishmen. Finally, West Ham United won the European cup-winners’ cup in 1965 with an entire English starting 11. Champions League successes and the amount of ethnically homogeneous players is obviously a non sequitur.
"We must protect the national identity of clubs," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said. "Clubs no longer have their own national players in their ranks, and we need to strengthen the clubs and then the national teams."
Blatter has an extremely valid point. If the managers in all of the prestigious clubs are constantly looking abroad for talent instead of building up the youth in their own country, then certainly there is need to have concern over the future of English football.
Blatter proposed the “6+5 rule” last May. The rule, which now has the backing of 155 of FIFA’s 208 member nations, states that each club must start six players that are eligible to play for the country of their club. Although Blatter gained the majority among the FIFA member nations, his proposal will not penetrate EU law.
Article 39 of the amended European Commission Treaty states:
“Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Community. Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.”
Experts from the Institute for European Affairs argue that the “6+5 rule” does not collide with article 39. The rule would be implemented solely for sports use; it’s all for the progress of the game.
As the Institute for European Affairs believes the “6+5 rule” will enhance the game, I believe quite the opposite. Players always have a shot at claiming their national identity by playing for their national teams. Club football is about establishing teams that can work together and produce the best football possible regardless of where players come from.
Henry Winter of The Telegraph wrote a column outlining the claims that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard made fearing the future of the English national team. The article was published on Nov. 17, 2007. Gerrard was making these claims at a time when England were struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 and eventually, they ended up not qualifying – national devastation.
Look at England now. They are at the top of group six with a five-point lead over second place Croatia. I believe England was at a time with bad management under Steve McClaren and their fear and anxiety for their national side turned into the Premier League being blamed. Fabio Capello has seemed to turn the national team around with his Italian hard-nosed style. People are still complaining about the amount of foreign players, but the cries are being heard from the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, not in England.
The Arsenal players piled on each other that rainy Saturday afternoon regardless of the multitude of countries they call home. In the words of Patrick Vieira after winning the FA Cup, “We came here to play football and win.” As uninventive as that may sound, isn’t that why we watch the game? Football is the “beautiful game”, not an ethnically moderated association.
