Top clubs set for pitch battle over wages

EUROPE’S top clubs are set to take their fight for compensation for the wages of players on international duty to the European Commission.

The 18 elite clubs who make up the G14 grouping - including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United - want FIFA and UEFA to give them part of the revenues from international tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championships.

G14 are currently waiting for the outcome of a complaint to the Swiss office of fair trading and general manager Thomas Kurth revealed that an official challenge to FIFA’s regulations could be made to the EC next spring.

“We want them to decide whether FIFA rules comply with competition law - we don’t believe they do,” Kurth said at the European Football Finance Forum in London.