The foreigner rule!
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The foreigner rule!
Can anyone point me to the rule stating that teams can only play one foreign player, as well as the definition of a foreign player. Does this apply in all club competitions and how does this rule get around the European Union's ruling (last year I think) deciding that quotas were illegal!
Still not sure who the foreigners are though - 3 props ?
Bosman and Kolpak
The Bosman ruling reinforced the Treaty of Rome in a sporting context, allowing the free movement of EU national workers around other EU countries. This effectively means any EU national has the same rights as any ‘local’ worker and therefore cannot be defined as a foreigner.
The Kolpak ruling means any person from a country that has workers rights agreements with another, must also treat that person as if they were a local or EU worker. In the case of the UK, this gives workers from South Africa, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa EU rights. However, these rights are dependent on the national first gaining a work permit, so an International player for South Africa may get a work permit and would then be entitled to workers rights under Kolpak. A player for Natal may not get that work permit and would not then be entitled to any additional rights under Kolpak.
Guinness Premiership rules
The current rule on foreign players is that a maximum of one foreign player can be on the pitch at any one time. The exception is during international weekends – Six Nations and Autumn Internationals – where a maximum of three foreign players can be on the pitch.
The Bosman ruling reinforced the Treaty of Rome in a sporting context, allowing the free movement of EU national workers around other EU countries. This effectively means any EU national has the same rights as any ‘local’ worker and therefore cannot be defined as a foreigner.
The Kolpak ruling means any person from a country that has workers rights agreements with another, must also treat that person as if they were a local or EU worker. In the case of the UK, this gives workers from South Africa, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa EU rights. However, these rights are dependent on the national first gaining a work permit, so an International player for South Africa may get a work permit and would then be entitled to workers rights under Kolpak. A player for Natal may not get that work permit and would not then be entitled to any additional rights under Kolpak.
Guinness Premiership rules
The current rule on foreign players is that a maximum of one foreign player can be on the pitch at any one time. The exception is during international weekends – Six Nations and Autumn Internationals – where a maximum of three foreign players can be on the pitch.