• Wenger thinks clubs treated badly by international
federations
• Action follows injury sustained by Van Persie for Netherlands
Robin van Persie lies injured while playing for
Holland. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters
Arsenal
intend to sue the Dutch Football Federation, the KNVB, for
compensation over the injury suffered by Robin van Persie while he
was on international duty – and the case could transform the face
of international football. The Holland
striker will miss most of the remainder of this season,
having damaged ankle ligaments during a friendly against Italy last
month, though he is expected to be fit for the World
Cup.
Arsène Wenger believes clubs are
treated disdainfully by international federations, as they are
often left to pay hefty wage bills when their employees are put out
of action representing their country. "We are working on this with
our lawyers at the moment and we are definitely going for it," he
said. "I expect financial compensation for the damage it can make
to the championship and the salary involved. It is especially
frustrating to lose your players for the rest of the season in a
friendly game. The question has to be raised."
Wenger was less than impressed by the treatment Van Persie
received with Holland, and claims the injury was misdiagnosed.
"Initially, the Dutch FA said it was a small problem and Robin
called me to see if he could go and see this Serbian wonder doctor
and it was OK. It was only when he came back here that we realised
there was much more damage. In Holland they have a fight between
the national doctor and the guy that did the surgery on Robin. We
just want to go for it because there are a lot of things that have
not been done properly after he was injured."
Wenger wants to force the issue to draw attention to a wider
problem. The Arsenal manager wants an overhaul in the balance of
power which he believes favours international federations over the
clubs. "I am not against the national teams. But at the moment we
sit here and they can do what they want," he said. "The players are
paid by their clubs and get injured playing for another team. I am
happy if England wins, but if we lose because England wins nobody
cares about me. There is something completely wrong with the
system. I want the power to be rebalanced more in favour of the
clubs. "
The issue of compensation has been raised before, notably in a
long-running case between Sporting Charleroi and Fifa, in which the
Belgian club, backed by Europe's top club sides in the form of the
now-defunct G14, sought compensation from the world governing body
for an injury sustained by Abdelmajid Oulmers while he was playing
for Morocco in a friendly against Burkina Faso in November
2004.
The case was discontinued in early 2008 when the European Club
Association superseded the G-14. Under an agreement with Uefa and
Fifa, clubs were to be handsomely compensated for players taking
part in the finals of the European Championship and World Cup. But
there is no compensation for players who take part in qualifiers,
friendlies or continental championships outside Europe. This is
what could change if Arsenal are successful, though poorer
federations might then not call up their best players for fear of
having to pay huge sums in compensation in the event of injury.
The repercussions in England would probably be less serious as
the FA is one of the few federations who take out insurance on
their players getting injured – they paid several million pounds to
Newcastle after Michael Owen damaged his cruciate playing for
England at the 2006 World Cup. The premiums, though, are
enormous.
"In less rich countries Fifa has to come in," Wenger said. "If
you look at a player like Emmanuel Adebayor getting injured and the
wages he is on at Manchester City, you could not expect the Togo FA
to pay his wages. That is when it becomes difficult. Still, Fifa
and Uefa have the funds to compensate clubs even if the smaller
countries cannot afford it."
Wenger also wants the banning of friendlies during the season,
and the rescheduling of matchdays during international breaks to
Friday-Tuesday instead of the traditional Saturday-Wednesday. "When
you go to Sunderland and your players have just come back on
Thursday night or Friday morning how can you prepare properly? It
is impossible," he said.