Brussels, 19/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission services and the representatives of the football world made further progress last Friday towards defining the system on international football transfers that should not only take into account the specific nature of sport but also be compatible with Community law. The Commission services also met the representatives of the football union in order to convince them to reduce their disproportionate salary claims. There are still several aspects to be settled mainly concerning: a) the calculation of the compensation to which clubs that have trained young players are entitled in the case of transfer. This will be a substantial amount but the details have still to be defined; b) the "sport sanctions" for players when contracts are broken before their expiry date.
These aspects as well as other minor details of the project will be discussed next Tuesday, 27 February, during a meeting that should be the last. Then, early March, the three European Commissioners concerned (Ms Reding, Ms Diamantopoulou and Mr Monti) could meet officially with the presidents of FIFA and UEFA to note that the affair has been settled.