The Football Association of England has agreed on new regulations for the conduct of Players' Agents, including an end to the same agent acting for a player and a club, which they say will “significantly strengthen” the current rules. According to AP, the FA board agreed the revisions on Friday, but they’ll need to be agreed on by the FA Council in order to be in operation for the January transfer window. The FA has clamped down on agents in line with a Premier League inquiry into allegations that agents paid bribes to English soccer coaches to complete transfer deals. The results into that investigation are scheduled to be revealed in December.
FA chief executive Brian Barwick said the new regulations were a “major step forward in the regulation of this area and make it absolutely clear what is acceptable for players, clubs and agents" and the FA will bring disciplinary action against any agent found to break them.
Agents will only be allowed to act for one party in a transfer or contract extension – either the player or the club. Clubs will only be allowed to pay agents through a deduction from a player’s salary. Overseas agents and lawyers will have to register with the FA, and the number of exempt persons allowed to act for players – such as parents, siblings and spouses – will be narrowed to “very limiting circumstances”.
FA chief executive Brian Barwick said the new regulations were a “major step forward in the regulation of this area and make it absolutely clear what is acceptable for players, clubs and agents" and the FA will bring disciplinary action against any agent found to break them.
Agents will only be allowed to act for one party in a transfer or contract extension – either the player or the club. Clubs will only be allowed to pay agents through a deduction from a player’s salary. Overseas agents and lawyers will have to register with the FA, and the number of exempt persons allowed to act for players – such as parents, siblings and spouses – will be narrowed to “very limiting circumstances”.