British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan has warned that selecting an all-English team to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics may lead to legal challenges from players not considered for selection.
That would seriously be a first in world football; as far as I know, not one player has ever offered up a leagl challenge to not being selected for his own national team, never mind an international select for a Mickey Mouse tournament.
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland reached an agreement in May 2009 to allow the selection of only English players, with the other home nations concerned that a combined team would threaten their individual status with FIFA.Agreement being the key word there- so, why suddenly is it a problem again for the Poison Dwarf?
That deal was cleared by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee but the BOA are adamant that players are picked on merit, and Moynihan has outlined one of the main areas of concern saying the agreement would be in breach of the Olympic Charter.If I understand his logic there, although the IOC themselves have agreed to the arrangement, they may have done so in ignorance of the regulations in their own charter? Riiiggght.
He said: 'We would open ourselves up to legal challenges if the pool of players available for selection was England only.'
3 comments:
A case of 'It's the ticket sales, stupid'?
Or the buggers want Gareth Bale to play on the left.
I don't think a truly UK team or an English one disguised as one will make that much difference ticket-wise. Also can't see Bale threaten legal action if he's not selected!
Of course the men's competition is age-restricted. Do you think Moynihan will be worrying about all those over-23s who could also sue for discrimination? What does the Olympic Charter have to say on that?
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