Bundesliga
FIFA DRAWS UP GUIDELINES TO TACKLE PAY-CUT COMPLAINTS
FIFA is getting ready to deal with complaints and appeals over wage cuts for players, producing guidelines for clubs and football bodies looking to cut costs during the stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, an internal document seen by Reuters showed.
The issue of pay cuts for players has exploded as a major controversy in England while in other countries, such as Germany and Spain, players have accepted temporary reductions in earnings.
With football halted across the globe, however, FIFA is aware that it may well have to deal with a series of different agreements and possible complaints, and its guidelines urge any cuts to be “proportionate”.
FIFA’s Coronavirus working group met last week and agreed on a wide range of issues, summarised in the document, including that player contracts due to run out in June should be extended to the end of any resumed season.
The internal paper notes that such decisions will inevitably reflect national law and specific agreements in each country but says it is keen to avoid large discrepancies between similar leagues and clubs. It also urges clubs, leagues and players to reach “appropriate collective agreements”.
The guiding principles behind such deals should be to “guarantee some form of salary payment to players and coaches, avoid litigation, protect contractual stability, and ensure clubs do not go bankrupt, while considering the financial impact of Covid-19 on clubs”.
Crucially, the document states that where clubs and employees cannot reach agreement and where “national law does not address the situation or collective agreements are not applicable”, unilateral decisions to change contracts “will only be recognised when they are otherwise deemed reasonable” by FIFA’s Dispute Resolutions Chamber or Players Status Committee.
A “reasonable” contractual change will take into account the economic situation of a club, the proportionality of any salary amendment and the net income of the employee after that amendment, FIFA writes in the document.
FIFA will also take into account whether the decision applies to the entire squad or only specific employees, and whether the club attempted in good faith to reach a mutual agreement with its employees.
The FIFA document summarising the working group’s views will be submitted to the Bureau of the FIFA Council for approval.
A Fifa spokesman said it was not in a position to comment as a proposal was being made to the Council, and “we cannot pre-empt that decision”.
The coronavirus working group is composed of representatives from across the game including the FIFA administration, confederations, national federations, the European Club Association (ECA), players union Fifpro and the World Leagues Forum.
The group also offered an alternative approach in which “all agreements between clubs and employees should be ‘suspended’ during any suspension of competitions provided proper insurance coverage is maintained, and adequate alternative income support arrangements can be found for employees during the period in question.”
The group agreed that transfer windows should be adjusted to reflect the changed dates of seasons, with priority given to teams finishing the current season with their existing squad.
FIFA has also ruled that planned new restrictions on loan deals will not come into effect until the end of the current period of uncertainty surrounding the game due to the pandemic.
-Reuters
Bayer Leverkusen kept pace with Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich by beating Hoffenheim 3-1 on Sunday with goals from Victor Boniface, Patrik Schick and Jeremie Frimpong.
Leverkusen finished with 10 players after Álex Grimaldo’s sending off with half an hour to play. New signings Emiliano Buendía and Mario Hermoso made their debuts as Xabi Alonso’s team stayed six points behind Bayern two weeks before the top two clash in Leverkusen.
Bayern defeated Holstein Kiel on Saturday.
Boniface scored with his first shot at goal since his proposed move to Saudi team Al-Nassr collapsed. The Nigeria forward started for his first game since early November after recovering from a thigh injury, and he scored in the 15th minute with a shot that Hoffenheim ’keeper Luca Philipp should arguably have stopped.
Frimpong made it 2-0 four minutes later after Aleix García sent the Dutch wing back through.
Then Robin Braun became the first referee to announce a VAR call to fans in a Bundesliga game when a penalty he awarded to Nathan Tella for a foul by Hoffenheim defender David Jurasek was taken back — video replays showed the Leverkusen attacker was coming from an offside position before he was fouled.
Leverkusen’s match was among five in the 20th round trialling the NFL-style announcements, a change league officials hope will make the much-maligned VAR system more popular among fans.
Buendía went on for the injured Tella to make his Bundesliga debut before the break, and Schick went on for Boniface after it.
Buendía surged through the Hoffenheim defence only to see his shot saved by Philipp, but Schick was there to tuck away the rebound for 3-0 in the 51st. It was the Czech forward’s 14th league goal of the season.
Then Grimaldo was shown red in the 61st when Hoffenheim substitute Gift Orban went on for the visitors. Orban pulled a goal back a minute later.
Buendía made way for Hermoso to compensate for Grimaldo’s sending off. Though tempers flared at times, Leverkusen’s 10 men contained the visitors for the rest of the game.
Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt drew with Wolfsburg 1-1 in the early game.
-AFP
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Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said Victor Boniface will remain at the Bundesliga club, after the Nigerian striker was left out of their Champions League clash with Sparta Prague amid rumours of a move to Saudi Arabia.
Boniface returned from injury on Saturday but was on the bench for Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig after German media reports linked him with a transfer to Saudi club Al-Nassr.
He was then left out of training ahead of Leverkusen’s 2-0 Champions League win over Czech side Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
“He will train again tomorrow. I believe he is staying with us,” Alonso told reporters after that win.
“So I have to say that I am satisfied, I am happy. He is comfortable here, so I don’t believe that this is a big stress for him.”
The 24-year-old has scored eight goals in 15 games in all competitions. Last season, he netted 14 goals in 23 league appearances to finish as their top scorer and played a pivotal role in securing Leverkusen’s first Bundesliga title.
Boniface staying at Leverkusen could open the doors for Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran to join Al-Nassr instead.
The Colombian forward is also a reported target for the Saudi club, who are looking to bolster a frontline that already features Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane.
-Reuters
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Bundesliga
Leverkusen sidelines Boniface at training session over transfer issues with Ronaldo’s club
Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface was left out of training on Tuesday as German media reports linked the striker with a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, with manager Xabi Alonso saying negotiations for the player’s transfer were ongoing.
If the transfer materialises, Boniface will be a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 24-year-old Boniface returned from injury on Saturday but was on the bench for Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
Before his injury in November, he had scored eight goals in 15 games in all competitions. Last season, he netted 14 goals in 23 league appearances to finish as their top scorer and played a pivotal role in securing Leverkusen’s first Bundesliga title.
“The situation with (Boniface) does exist. Negotiations are ongoing with the club, so we have to wait. Our preparation for the match remains the same,” Alonso told reporters ahead of the Champions League clash against Sparta Prague on Wednesday.
“We prepared (for the game) without Boni, of course. We still have to wait a little longer to see (how the situation unfolds),” the Spanish coach added.
“After Jeanu (Belocian) and Martin (Terrier) injuries we already said that we need to be active in the transfer window. Three days remain and we are so close (to a decision).
“I am and I will be happy with the squad (regardless). Until now, all players feel that they are ready and they are an important part of the team.”
Defender Belocian suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of the year and winger Terrier sustained an Achilles tendon rupture last week.
Leverkusen, eighth in the Champions League standings on 13 points, have already booked at least a knockout stage playoff spot while Sparta Prague, with four points from seven games, have been eliminated.
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