Cup Tied Players

Royale with Cheese

This is something I was thinking about earlier. What exactly is the point of the cup tied rule?

Say a player plays for Villareal in the Champions League group stages, and then earns himself a move to Real Madrid. Why shouldn't he be allowed play for Madrid in the knock out stages of the competition? I looked up the champions league regulations, but they don't give any reasons for implementing this rule, so I'll have to rely on wikipedia for an explanation:

It prevents a wealthy, still competing team from gaining an unfair advantage by signing talented players from clubs that may have lost out in earlier rounds, in an attempt to increase their cup chances.

I'm not seeing the difference here between a wealthy team signing talented players from teams below them in the league, and from them doing so to a team competing in the same cup. If the player can play in the league for Real after doing so for Villareal, why shouldn't he be allowed play in the Champions League knockout stage? What's unfair about signing players in an effort to gain an advantage (yes this may actually be unfair as money = success, but that's a given at this stage), or more specifically, what's so unfair about doing it midseason?

I can see how it can help smaller clubs from having their squads raided in the middle of the season, but it only really applies to teams competing in Europe as I could never see the fact that a player is cup tied for a domestic cup being a deal breaker. Anyway the selling team always has the option to say no, and hang on to the player til end of the season regardless. You don't often see players force a move out of a club in January.

Anyway, it just doesn't make much sense to me when I think about it. I've accepted it until now, as it's always been the way. But if the rule did not exist already, and FIFA proposed that it would be brought in tomorrow, I'd think it'd just be crazy old Sepp Blatter talking shite again.

leninbenjamin

I think it's a deterrent towards the richer clubs buying the best in-form players, so I'm happy enough to keep it in place. Tbh I think it makes things more interesting. The difference is that the bigger clubs would be buying players with proven CL experience, instead of taking a punt on someone to make the step up. So it is a real deterrent.

redout

There is a rule and it states that a player cannot represent more than one club during the course of the competition. Also I think a player cant move from a UEFA cup team to a Champions league team and vice-versa and be eligible. Real Madrid had that problem with Diarra and Huntelaar last season (only one player allowed to register). They tried to legally argue the rule with UEFA but it got thrown out.

Why the rule ?

It doesnt give an explanation in the UEFA regulations.

Bukman13

Not sure if this is true, but!

I was once told that it was to stop bigger clubs loaning out players to smaller clubs for a short period.

Eg - Arsenal loan out their entire team to a League 1 club who has drawn Spurs in the cup. (exaggeration I know but ya get the point)

Helix

redout wrote: »

Also I think a player cant move from a UEFA cup team to a Champions league team and vice-versa and be eligible.

they can, but only one player per club after the group stages

GavRedKing

I say get rid of it, its like that 3 clubs in one season rule, its all a load of crap IMO and rarely effects the bigger clubs as they wont touch a player that is cup tied, its the smaller clubs that sometimes get roasted on this when they take a player on loan or buy him late in a transfer window.