Courtois to face Blues

11 Apr 2014 13:58:17
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois will be able
to play against Chelsea in the
Champions League
semifinals without the La
Liga club having to pay them a penalty fee,
an Atletico director said on Friday.
Belgium international Courtois has been on
loan at the La Liga side from parent club
Chelsea since 2011 and the two clubs were
paired with each other in the last four of
Europe's elite club competition in Friday's
draw.
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said after
Atletico qualified there was a clause in the
loan deal which meant the club would have
to pay "a lot of money" to Chelsea if Courtois
were to play against the Londoners.
Spanish media reported it would have been 3
million euros (approximately R43.5 million)
for each game.
However, Atletico director Clemente
Villaverde and European soccer's governing
body Uefa both said on Friday such a clause
would breach competition rules.
"Courtois can play whatever happens,"
Villaverde said in an interview with Canal
Plus after the draw.
"There is a Uefa regulation which prohibits
any agreement between clubs that prevents a
player from participating freely in the
competition," he added.
"The regulation would have been breached if
the player had not been allowed the freedom
to participate."
Uefa published a statement that said if
Chelsea enforced the penalty clause for the
two-legged semifinal tie they would be
sanctioned.
"Both the Uefa Champions League and the
Uefa Disciplinary Regulations contain clear
provisions which strictly forbid any club to
exert, or attempt to exert, any influence
whatsoever over the players that another
club may (or may not) field in a match," the
statement said.
"It follows that any provision in a private
contract between clubs which might function
in such a way as to influence who a club
fields in a match is null, void and
unenforceable so far as Uefa is concerned."
Courtois has been a key figure in Atletico's
recent success and turned in another brilliant
performance in Wednesday's 1-0 victory
against Barcelona which put them through to
their first semifinal in 40 years.
Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay
confirmed on Friday the club would allow
Courtois to play but did not directly address
the issue of the penalty fee.
"The loan was arranged back at the start of
the season. He can play against Chelsea,
that's never in doubt," Gourlay said on Sky
Sports.
"Regarding the Uefa statement, we'll
evaluate that in due course," he added.
"As far as we are concerned we will comply
with loan rules. He can play in both ties
against Chelsea if selected. That is fact."
© Reuters