Scotland's football clubs accused of 'behaving like cartel' and 'exploiting kids' in watchdog complaint

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scotland's professional football clubs have been accused of behaving like a “cartel” and exploiting youth players in a complaint to the UK’s competition’s watchdog.

Claims from Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner and grassroots campaigners say current rules can see boys aged 10-17 trapped at teams for years against their will.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now been asked to investigate how young players are registered with elite clubs and move between them.

In their complaints against the SFA and SPFL, the Children’s Commissioner and campaign group RealGrassroots say the rules “restrict youth players’ freedom”, violate competition law and “amount to economic exploitation of children, which breaches their human rights”.That’s down, they say, to a “no poach” deal between top clubs which caps how many youth players one can recruit from another and sets “implausibly high” up-front fees for any club wishing to bring in another team’s player.

It also bans players and their parents from approaching other clubs - even if their families have moved homes, if their current club isn’t playing them, or if their club isn’t offering good training and facilities.Clubs can also apply a “unilateral extension” for kids aged 15 and above where they can lengthen the player’s registration period without obtaining their consent.