EU should show dodgy football agents the red card

Posted by Bronwen Maher on June 14, 2010 at 03:41 PM

As the World Cup in South Africa hots up, Labour MEP Nessa Childers is demanding that the EU brings in tough new proposals to regulate the activities of sports agents, particularly those engaged in football.
 
This issue will be discussed at the European Parliament’s June Plenary session in Strasbourg tomorrow night (Tuesday, 15th June) where members from across Europe will ask the European Commission to introduce new laws governing the conduct of professional sports agents.
 
Labour MEP Nessa Childers, who sits on the Parliamentary Committee responsible for sport, said: "Investigations have shown that for every Jerry Maguire, there’s a shady agent lurking in the shadows whose stock-in-trade ranges from match-fixing to money laundering and everything else in between.
 
"One major study published recently highlights the links between organised crime and the activities of some agents. It throws a light on the murky underbelly of the financing of professional sport today and details the vulnerability of talented and ambitious young players in their teens, some of whom are subjected to what amounts to a form of human trafficking by unscrupulous agents and advisors out to make a fast buck.  
 
“Given the global nature of professional sport, there is a wider recognition that national governments acting alone cannot effectively tackle the problem. That is why the EU should step in to show the red card to dodgy agents.”
 
"Tomorrow night, members of the European Parliament will be demanding that the European Commission;
 
* Brings in tough new laws to force greater transparency in agents' financial transactions;
* Sets higher standards and more demanding examinations for would-be agents;
* Outlaws cash windfalls in the form of agent’s fees in the often lucrative transfer of underage footballers;
* Legislates for standardised European contracts for agents and for a single EU-wide licensing system and register.
 
“FIFA, under the Players Agents Regulation of 2008 has made a genuine attempt to control access to the profession and to regulate agents. However the system is not without its flaws. In the absence of any entitlement to impose civil or criminal penalties or sanctions, the Regulation is not feared by agents who are acting outside of the laws of the game or who may be operating on the margins.
 
“This is why the EU must take definitive action and do so now while we celebrate the festival of football in South Africa which doubles as the world’s biggest trade fair for agents.
 
“The eyes of the world are watching players at the peak of their game performing to the highest standards on the pitch at the World Cup. Let us make sure that the players' agents are similarly inspired to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism when the final whistle is blown."

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