Premeir League helped rivals: Blatter

FIFA president Sepp Batter said on Thursday that England's failure to reach Euro 2008 was partly due to Premier League clubs helping overseas players reach the peak of their game and benefiting their own countries.

Blatter, in an interview with Reuters at the University of Zurich, said: "Football is unpredictable and sometimes without any logic but it is a fact that in the strongest English teams the best players are not always English.

"So where are the best English players coming from? They are coming from the less strong teams, which is weakening the English national team. What is happening in England is that the best teams are preparing the national team players for England's opponents.

"The Premier League has benefited the other countries taking part in the European championships, but not England."

England failed to reach the finals, which start on Saturday, after finishing behind Croatia and Russia in their qualifying group following a 3-2 home defeat by Croatia last November.

FLYING VISIT

Blatter was speaking after delivering a keynote speech launching a two-day soccer forum at the University of Zurich before leaving for Brussels later on Thursday.

He was visiting the headquarters of the European Union and meeting Hans-Gert Poettering, the president of the European Parliament, as part of his bid to convince EU lawmakers to approve his controversial "6+5" quota rule.

The rule would make it mandatory for clubs to start a match with six players eligible to play for their national team and only five foreign players.

Blatter was given a mandate at last week's FIFA Congress in Sydney to continue exploring ways of having the rule implemented. He said he believed he was near to finding a solution to the plan that has been opposed by European soccer's governing body UEFA and its president Michel Platini.

He continued: "There has been much opposition to the plan since we first went public with it at the FIFA Congress in Munich two years ago, and the opposition is still coming from UEFA who want to remain on good terms with the European Union.

"But the EU is a political union with 27 independent states covering 30 football associations and one parliament and one commission."

LEGAL ACTION

Last month, though, the European Parliament voted against the implementation of the 6+5 rule.

The EU parliament however, has backed UEFA's "home-grown" rule which sets a quota for locally trained players but with no restrictions on their nationality.

Blatter is convinced that he will persuade the EU that his plan is legal and believes he has some powerful allies.

"Yesterday, the French President, Mr Sarkozy said that there must be an exemption for sport and this will be a matter for him when he has the presidency of the European Union from July 1.

"There has to be a solution and sport has to have an exemption. You also cannot have 27 European states making the rules for 208 members of FIFA from all over the world

"It is not possible. We are saying to the politicians, do not think that Europe is alone in the world. Everyone preaches solidarity but then they should show some more solidarity themselves. We have to defend the integrity of the worldwide game."

He also said he did not fear a breakaway of leading clubs who might oppose the 6+5 rule if it was eventually accepted by the EU.

"If it becomes EU law, then it will be a football law as well, and the clubs will accept it. There will be no breakaway," he said confidently.