Caborn dismayed by Euro-fudge on sport
14/06/2007 |
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The European Commission's white paper on sport, a process started by the British sports minister, Richard Caborn, looks like ending up as a classic Euro-fudge that will please no one.
Caborn's mission, which began when he commissioned the European Sports Review, was to have the white paper recognise sport's unique characteristics and give it protection from some areas of EC law, for example concerning the free movement of labour, to allow sports to nurture home-grown talent without the threat of legal action, and concerning competition, to allow collective TV deals.
That aspiration appears to have been quashed by the commission and the draft version of the document circulated this week is so weak that not one of the interested parties has felt able to welcome it. Caborn, Uefa, the Premier League and members of the European parliament all oppose its contents.
Controversial issues such as the introduction of cost controls including wage caps appear to have been dropped altogether and Caborn, having been involved from such an early stage with his review, believes the document does not go far enough, particularly on the issue of home-grown players.
"This is a great opportunity to allow sport to govern itself rather than the courts and we will be lobbying to have the white paper revised," he said. The Uefa president, Michel Platini, was also highly critical, describing the paper as "timid and indecisive".
(Source: Guardian.co.uk)
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