EU legal advisor: Homegrown player quotas clash with EU law
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
AP Sports Writer
BRUSSELS (AP) — A senior legal adviser says UEFA rules on homegrown players are partially incompatible with the European Union’s free movement laws but they might be legitimate to develop and recruit youngsters. Advocate General Maciej Szpunar says UEFA-backed homegrown player quotas are “likely to create indirect discrimination” against players from other EU countries. Advocate generals routinely provide legal guidance to the European Court of Justice. Their opinions aren’t binding on the Luxembourg-based court but are followed in most cases. A judge in Belgium asked the European Union’s court in Luxembourg in 2021 to examine if the rules comply with free movement of labor and competition law in the 27-nation bloc.