UK Leaving the EU - Did Premier League transfers just become much more complex?

[SoxFanInCali]

It's looking like the UK is voting to leave the EU. That will have countless economic and political ramifications, but let's use this space to talk about how it may affect player movement to English/Scottish clubs.

Under the current rules, EU citizens (and guys that are eligible to get an EU-member passport) can play in England freely, with no restrictions. Non-EU citizens have to meet qualifications regarding the percentage of international games they have played for their country over the last 2 years, or win an appeal based on "exceptional talent". There are over 100 players in the Premier League and hundreds more playing in other levels of the pyramid or in Scotland that would fail to meet the normal criteria if they weren't EU citizens. Realizing that, all 20 Premier League clubs backed the "Remain" campaign, but they seem to have lost.

If the UK ultimately does leave the EU, it won't happen overnight, and there will be plenty of time for rules to be tweaked or for the Premier League and the FA to lobby for changes to immigration rules. This is just something that will be interesting to watch as this process develops.

 

[sachmoney]

Also, the GBP tanked following the leave verdict, so clubs' purchasing power is going to be negatively affected by that, despite the influx of money from their TV deals. But yes, how it affects the EPL/SPL from a legal stand point is much more interesting and complex.

 

[bosox4283]

AS, the Spanish sports daily, has mentioned that Real Madrid will have to deal with Bale taking the place on the roster of a player from outside the EU. Currently, a Spanish team can only have three players. In the case of Real Madrid, the players are James, Danilo, and Casemiro. I suspect Real Madrid will sell Danilo for pennies on the dollar. Since there are so few players from the UK in Spain, I don't foresee this change as a problem.

 

[CodPiece XL]

It's looking like the UK is voting to leave the EU. That will have countless economic and political ramifications, but let's use this space to talk about how it may affect player movement to English/Scottish clubs.

Under the current rules, EU citizens (and guys that are eligible to get an EU-member passport) can play in England freely, with no restrictions. Non-EU citizens have to meet qualifications regarding the percentage of international games they have played for their country over the last 2 years, or win an appeal based on "exceptional talent". There are over 100 players in the Premier League and hundreds more playing in other levels of the pyramid or in Scotland that would fail to meet the normal criteria if they weren't EU citizens. Realizing that, all 20 Premier League clubs backed the "Remain" campaign, but they seem to have lost.

If the UK ultimately does leave the EU, it won't happen overnight, and there will be plenty of time for rules to be tweaked or for the Premier League and the FA to lobby for changes to immigration rules. This is just something that will be interesting to watch as this process develops.

I may be way off base here, but aren't work permits based on regulations written by the Home Office and the FA? If that's the case and the FA felt they were negatively impacted by the Brexit I'm pretty sure their rules would be re-written to make it easier for foreign players to gain a permit.

Regardless, I think it will affect the "poorer" leagues more.

 

[soxfan121]

UEFA choosing to strictly interpret the homegrown roster rules for UK based clubs this season would likely cause some weird buys for the top tier clubs.

The most expensive player to buy in the EPL today might be Dele Alli - young and English.

 

[JimBoSox9]

UEFA choosing to strictly interpret the homegrown roster rules for UK based clubs this season would likely cause some weird buys for the top tier clubs.

The most expensive player to buy in the EPL today might be Dele Alli - young and English.

Wenger's collection of midfield mediocrities suddenly looks like a pot of gold!

 

[Titans Bastard]

I may be way off base here, but aren't work permits based on regulations written by the Home Office and the FA? If that's the case and the FA felt they were negatively impacted by the Brexit I'm pretty sure their rules would be re-written to make it easier for foreign players to gain a permit.

Regardless, I think it will affect the "poorer" leagues more.

Yes, I think that they'll have a good degree of leeway to decide how they treat foreigners. The UK's current work permit rules are unique among soccer leagues - most simply have limits on foreigners (or non-EU players if part of the EU labor market). Does anybody know if there's some larger reason that would compel the UK to continue to use the current work permit system (i.e. an egalitarian ideology; footballers should be held to the same standard as foreigners in other industries)? If not, they might as well just switch to a system that says clubs can sign X number of foreign players.

One thing that they won't be able to change relates to youth players. FIFA regulations state that players cannot move abroad until they are 18 years old. In the EU, there is an exception that EU players can go to other EU countries as long as they are 16 years old. The UK will no longer be able to take advantage of that exception.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

The UK will not officially leave the EU for at least two years. There will be plenty of time for the powers-that-be in the UK government and FA to amend the rules regarding work permits and player movement so that there will be minimal disruption to clubs. I expect this to happen simply because its a political no-brainer - the pro-leave politicians will want to avoid doing anything that would turn sentiment against them, and - as silly as this might be - having the Premier League take a nosedive or forcing its clubs to sell off a bunch of popular players definitely has the power to sour certain elements of the public against the brexit.

Edit: I think the only real immediate consequence of brexit for clubs is what Sach alluded to above - the pound has sunk like 10% against the Euro, so buying players from European clubs will be that much more expensive.

 

[Zososoxfan]

AS, the Spanish sports daily, has mentioned that Real Madrid will have to deal with Bale taking the place on the roster of a player from outside the EU. Currently, a Spanish team can only have three players. In the case of Real Madrid, the players are James, Danilo, and Casemiro. I suspect Real Madrid will sell Danilo for pennies on the dollar. Since there are so few players from the UK in Spain, I don't foresee this change as a problem.

I don't know this area well, but I did not know of any quota system in La Liga. How does this work for Barcelona? Bravo, Alves, Messi, Neymar, and Suarez are all non-EU. What about for Real when they want to start Navas, Marcelo, James, and Casemiro?

 

[Schnerres]

If you live and work five years in Spain, you can apply for spanish citizenship. For example Messi, Dani Alves for example should not count as Non-EU players. Neymar is another case, but in a few years, he should also be able to get a spanish passport.

 

[sachmoney]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36620201

 

[The Price Is Wrong]

http://www.espnfc.us/european-championship/74/blog/post/2901011/brexit-vote-mirrors-footballs-power-to-either-unite-or-divide-at-euro-2016

There is an irony that Brexit happened at the same time as the European Championship. There are two ways to watch football. You can watch it as the one game played all over the world, perhaps the single thing beyond our biology that most unites us. You can watch it and divine all sorts of meaning about forces larger than you. And you can find in it hope and possibility.

Or you can watch football and see in it a fight. You can see it as two counter philosophies. You can measure the pitch as territory to be claimed and lost, and you can find in the colors of the jersey a nationalistic pride, a reason to find faith in your country.
(...)
What's hard to remember sometimes, and what will almost certainly be forgotten in the coming days and weeks of panic and chaos, is that both the Remain and the Leave sides, like the two ways of watching football, were so strong because they were both rooted in love. The division came only in the choice of how best to express that love, and to whom that love would be devoted, and whether there are limits to love and its powers called borders, or whether love is limitless.

More good stuff there, too.

 

[ifmanis5]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36620201

Wow, what a mess. The FA will have to change a lot of rules or be content with staring at a lot of fair to middling locals for a while.

 

[Jettisoned]

AS, the Spanish sports daily, has mentioned that Real Madrid will have to deal with Bale taking the place on the roster of a player from outside the EU. Currently, a Spanish team can only have three players. In the case of Real Madrid, the players are James, Danilo, and Casemiro. I suspect Real Madrid will sell Danilo for pennies on the dollar. Since there are so few players from the UK in Spain, I don't foresee this change as a problem.

Anyone from Iberroamerica is eligible for Spanish citizenship after accruing 2 years of residency in Spain. James is probably pretty close to that by now.

 

[mauf]

Why is this a mess? Isn't it a given that Parliament and the U.K. leagues will just rewrite the rules so that something very close to the status quo persists? (For example, pro athletes are damn near exempt from immigration rules in the U.S. and Canada.) Is there some UEFA wrinkle or something I'm missing?

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Why is this a mess? Isn't it a given that Parliament and the U.K. leagues will just rewrite the rules so that something very close to the status quo persists? (For example, pro athletes are damn near exempt from immigration rules in the U.S. and Canada.) Is there some UEFA wrinkle or something I'm missing?

Well, they never did make it easy before for athletes from every country to come in. They legally couldn't restrict EU athletes due to the right to work in any EU country, but they didn't extend that beyond the EU. I'm sure they will loosen up the current system, but it may end up somewhere in between.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

I would be surprised if this ends up impacting the cash cow that is the Premiership in any meaningful way.