Joël Matip is at the heart of a legal imbroglio. The Cameroonian player from Liverpool has in fact refused to join the Cameroon national team to compete in the African Cup of Nations. Does he have the right? Can he play for his club during CAN? Attempt to answer.
The Liverpool Club seized Fifa to find out if its player could play the matches of the English Championship during the CAN period (January 14 - February 5). What are the applicable regulations?
Can a player refuse a national selection?
According to'' section 1.1 of Schedule 1 (Provision of players for representative teams of associations) of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of FIFA Players, a club cannot prevent a player from joining its selection:
"A club which has registered a player must make this player available to the association of the country for which the player is qualified, on the basis of his nationality, if he is summoned by the association in question "
The Club must therefore make the player available for his selection "for all international match periods appearing in the international match calendar as well as for all final competitions of the FIFA World Cup ™, the FIFA Confederations Cup and the continental championships organized by the confederations for the teams representative "A", insofar as the association concerned is a member of the organizing confederation".
A player cannot therefore be prevented by his club or refuse to join the selection which summoned him.
Otherwise, the player (and the Club) may be sanctioned by the FIFA Disciplinary Commission (Article 6 of the aforementioned annex).
"1. In principle, any player registered with a club is required to respond positively to a summons to play for one of the representative teams of an association that he is authorized to represent on the basis of his nationality.
(...) ".
Can a player play with his club during an international competition?
"A player summoned to one of the representative teams of his association is not entitled, unless otherwise agreed with the said association, to play on behalf of the club with which he is registered for the time that his stake lasts or should have lasted. available in accordance with this annex, plus five additional days "(Article 5 of the aforementioned annex).
"Calling in the players1. When a player is summoned to the national team, he must in principle obey this summons. If he does not wish to be summoned for certain matches or for a certain period of time, he must inform the association of which he is a national, in writing, before it summons him. In addition, only the player himself can give up representing his national team. He must inform the association concerned in writing ".
