There was a surprising information given by Tony Leighton about Jodie Taylor being not eligible for the FA Women’s Cup final. As of today the England forward has not played a game for the Arsenal Ladies.
Here is the tweet :
For those who wonder what is an international clearance also known as the ITC ( International transfer certificate), let’s have a look at the FIFA regulations on the status and transfer of the player , October 2015 version which is the latest one.
“Players registered at one association may only be registered at a new
association once the latter has received an International Transfer Certificate
(hereinafter: ITC) from the former association. The ITC shall be issued free of
charge without any conditions or time limit. Any provisions to the contrary
shall be null and void. The association issuing the ITC shall lodge a copy with
FIFA. The administrative procedures for issuing the ITC are contained in
Annexe 3, article 8, and Annexe 3a of these regulations
Any player who is registered with a club that is affiliated to one association shall
not be eligible to play for a club affiliated to a different association unless an ITC
has been issued by the former association and received by the new association
in accordance with the provisions of this annexe. Special forms provided by FIFA
for this purpose or forms with similar wording shall be used
At the very latest, the ITC must be requested on the last day of the registration
period of the new association.
All applications to register a professional must be submitted by the new club
to the new association during one of the registration periods established
by that association. All applications shall be accompanied by a copy of the
contract between the new club and the professional. Equally, a copy of the
transfer agreement concluded between the new club and the former club shall
be provided to the new association, if applicable. A professional is not eligible
to play in official matches for his new club until an ITC has been issued by the
former association and received by the new association.“
The last sentence would explain why Jodie Taylor has not played a game yet for Arsenal Ladies.
Then if we have a look at the FA WSL 2016 Rules, there are some bizarre provisions on players playing without an ITC ie something that should not happen as per FIFA as seen in bold above.
8.7 It is the responsibility of all Clubs to ensure any Player signing a registration form has, where necessary, the required International Clearance Certificate
Then the bizarre rules starting piling in:
Playing an ineligible player 8.65 and 8.66:
“Any Club found to have played an ineligible Player in a Competition Match or Competition Matches shall, save in exceptional circumstances, have any points gained from that Competition Match or Competition Matches deducted from its record, up to a maximum of 12 points, and have levied upon it a fine. The Management Committee may also order that such Competition Match or Competition Matches be replayed on such terms as are decided by the Management Committee which may also levy penalty points against the Club in default.
The Management Committee may determine not to impose a points deduction in circumstances where the ineligibility is due to the failure to obtain an International Clearance Certificate or where the ineligibility is related to the Player’s status“
According to this rule Arsenal could play Jodie Taylor and get away without a penalty depending on a vote from the management committee, this cannot be serious ??
The same apply for the FA WSL Conti Cup :
“Where a Club is found to have played an ineligible Player in a Competition Match or Competition Matches that Competition Match or Competition Matches shall be awarded to the opposition Club. Notwithstanding the above, the Management Committee shall have the power, in its absolute discretion, not to order that the Competition Match be awarded to the opposition team only in circumstances where the ineligibility is due to the failure to obtain an International Clearance Certificate or where the ineligibility is related to the Player’s status. In such circumstances, the Management Committee shall have the power to impose any sanction that it determines.”
I find it baffling that a team can actually register with the FA a player without an ITC and could also play that player in games and potentially get away without being penalised as it only depends on a vote from the Management Committee.
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