The Sunday Times:
The Football Association has launched a scathing attack on the G14 group of top European clubs ahead of a court judgment in Belgium tomorrow that could radically shift the balance of power between clubs and countries in European football.
The Belgian club Sporting Charleroi, with the backing of G14, is suing Fifa after midfielder Abdelmajid Oulmers was injured playing for Morocco in November 2004 and remained out of the game for eight months.
Should the judge rule in Charleroi's favour, it could result in clubs being paid compensation every time their players are on international duty and having a greater say over the international calendar.
Simon Johnson, the FA's director of corporate affairs, accused G14 of being "wholly opportunistic" in pursuing the case. "What they have done here is jump on the back of a case that should be about compensation for injury and insurance and have tried to turn it into a referendum on whether countries should pay for the release of players full stop, whether they get injured or not," he said. "You really have to question why G14 have suddenly become so supportive of a club in the Belgian first division."
G14 are understood to have submitted documents to the court claiming they are entitled to tens of millions of pounds retrospectively for the release of players. Johnson said the wealthiest bodies, such as the FA, would be able to afford to pay compensation, but would be the exception.
"The vast majority of teams we compete against — even if you look at the 32 teams in the World Cup — wouldn't necessarily have the resources to pay for the release of their players for their qualifying matches or friendlies — the likes of Togo, Angola and Ghana, or indeed smaller countries closer to home."
Should G14's action be successful, some associations could face bills of about £500,000 for the release of players for internationals.