Our beloved football could be radically changed if the UK votes to leave the European Union this summer.
According to experts and leading voices in the game the so-called Brexit has sparked fears across the English and Scottish leagues and could lead to more than 400 players losing the right to play in the UK.
I’m not going to drag politics or my personal view into a football story but I for one will be gutted not to see great players plying their trade in the Premier League because they cannot get work permits. I really don’t want to see stars like Sergio Aguerro, Alexis Sanchez, the Toure brothers, Edin Hazard, David Silva, Mahrez and West Ham’s Payet leave English football because of restrictions of freedom of movement for foreign workers, which essentially they are.
Its not just fans and managers that are worrying. Football agent Rachel Anderson has expressed concerns "Leaving the EU will have a much bigger effect on football than people think. We're talking about half of the Premier League needing work permits. The short-term impact would be huge.” At present players with an EU passport are currently free to play in the UK. Players from countries outside the EU, like Aguerro and the Toure’s, must meet stringent Home Office criteria. The most important criteria is that a player has to be an established international for a leading nation. According to the BBC there is currently 332 players in the top two divisions of England and the top flight in Scotland that would be in jeopardy and would fail to meet the current standards if we voted to leave the EU in the referendum on 23 June.
Well over 100 Premier League players would be affected and teams like Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Watford could lose 11 players from their squads, while Championship side Charlton Athletic could lose 13.
Only 23 of the 180 EU players currently playing in the Championship would get work permits. Even more surprising none of the 53 EU players in the Scottish Premiership would qualify for a permit on the basis of their international career. There would be no chance of EU players in League One and League Two on that basis.
What would also happen is that our clubs would lose out to their European counterparts when it comes to top youth talent. Barca, Real Madrid would have a massive advantage with their academies being able to take the worlds best kids.
There are arguments that over time a lack of foreign stars would be a benefit as it could force clubs to concentrate on home-grown talent and the national sides would each have a larger pool of talent. I remember collecting football stickers in the 80’s and there were hardly any names that I couldn’t pronounce. As the Premier league started growing and getting stronger I was excited to see stars like Bergkamp, Henry, Vierra, Ginola, Petit, Zola, Vialli and many more grace our grounds.
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has already written to club bosses throughout the UK warning them a vote to leave would have "devastating consequences" on British football.
Football agent Simon Bailiff thinks it will have a negative affect "I don't personally believe it will have a huge impact on the biggest names but it could have an effect on the general traffic of non-star international players, which may hurt the league's quality and attractiveness to foreign investors.”
Source: DSG
