[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by Chris

As of this evening it’s unclear whether the governing bodies actually have the power to sanction the players in the way that has been threatened. It would amount to a denial of their right to work. If there isn’t a basis in legislation such action could be unlawful. At worst it could be outright illegal.

If the powers the governing bodies need are unclear, the government has to get involved, because that is the only way to put legislation before parliament quickly enough.

PM on Radio 4 is reporting that Boris thinks there *might* be sufficient legislation in place already to allow the relevant governing bodies to block this, but if it turns out there isn’t, he is prepared to legislate. The question is what happens in the grey area between sports and competition legislation.

Also, you know the excreta has impacted upon the air circulation system when Radio 4 news leads on a sports story.

If the founding teams were in their own private league, they won't be out of work.

The governing bodies can surely add a definition of "club" to their rules so that a player's club must be one affiliated to that governing body which, in turn, can be governed by rules as to which leagues are allowed to offer "clubs".

Something like that. But not the government; it's a precedent too far.