English player union head backs ban on under18 moves

Gordon Taylor, the head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, the players’ union, on Sunday advocated a ban on transfers for players aged less than 18 amid the fallout of Chelsea’s poaching of Gael Kakuta from French side Lens.

“There’s been a general feeling that a ban on movement of players under the age of 18 would be better for the game,” Taylor told BBC Radio as he assessed FIFA’s ban on Chelsea buying players until 2011 – a decision the club have appealed.

“Football is about competition. You can’t have all the best youngsters at the biggest, richest clubs.”

Taylor has a dual role in that, aside from his PFA role, he heads up international equivalent FiFPro, which also wants to block transfers for players aged less than 18.

“You need to encourage clubs, if they’re going to have youth development programmes, to be able to pick out the lads and have some time with them.

“If they do move on, which may be inevitable you need a system whereby proper, effective compensation is paid,” said Taylor, who added any move should attract “fair compensation” for the club losing its player.

“I don’t think this situation with Chelsea would have reached the stage it has now if compensation had been agreed between the two clubs,” he concluded, adding that with FIFA ready to clamp down he “wouldn’t be surprised if there were some more cases.”

Manchester United may face an investigation with another French club, Le Havre, set to ask FIFA to investigate the English giants’ capture of 16-year-old starlet Paul Pogba last month.

Currently, European law prevents players from signing formal contracts with a club before they turn 16 hence the club that discovers him could see another team come in and tempt him away.

If Chelsea are found, on appeal, to have breached FIFA’s article 17.4 on breach of contract then they will be banned from making signings for two registration periods through to 2011.

On Saturday, former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates welcomed FIFA’s crackdown, saying top clubs have been trading youngsters “like horsemeat.”

Bates, now chairman of third tier fallen giants Leeds, said such practices are widespread and a crackdown is needed.

Leeds and Bates themselves successfully won a reported 5 million pound (seven million euro) compensation package from Chelsea three years ago after the Londoners signed up Leeds teenagers Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo.

Bates, currently Leeds chairman, told Saturday’s Daily Mail: “The problem here is that the big clubs are stripping the small clubs of their youngsters.

“They are like Japanese fishing trawlers, just sweeping up everything in their nets.

“Right now some of these boys are just being traded like horsemeat.”