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Foreign loan loophole is closed by Football League

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments216

Matej Vydra and his Watford team-mates

The Football League has voted to restrict the use of overseas loans after Championship club Watford brought in 10 players from Udinese last season.

Watford, whose owners also own the Italian side, came within a game of promotion, losing the play-off final.

The Football League has limited match-day squads to five loanees, with four from any one club - in line with quotas for domestic loans.

Currently overseas loans are regarded as full transfers, so not limited.

A spokesman for the Football League said, "The proposal was voted for unanimously."

The influx of players from Udinese and Granada, who are also owned by the Pozzo family, into Watford's ranks was after the two teams had drawn 2-2 in February.

The Hornets had named seven loan players in their squad for the match, but only Nathaniel Chalobah, on a temporary deal from Chelsea, counted towards their official loan quota.

Their line-up also included Czech striker Matej Vydra, on loan from Udinese, who scored 22 goals en route to landing the Championship Player of the Year award.

"That gives a licence to people to buy English clubs, chuck all their players over here and have a reserve team," said Holloway at the time.

"What if Barcelona wanted to buy us and play their 'B' team for us? We've got to sort this out."

Watford, who are currently under a transfer embargo until 31 August because of their previous owners' financial irregularities, have said they will try to secure the best of their loan players on a permanent basis for next season.

The Football League, which appointed a working party to look at the issue following complaints, required 51% of their 72 members to vote in favour to change the rules.

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216 comments

  • Comment posted by quijibo81, at 14:49 6 Jun 2013

    Don't blame Watford for their approach as it was a perfectly legitimate tactic, but I'm glad it's going to be limited from now on.

  • Comment posted by OldPassword, at 15:09 6 Jun 2013

    Is what Watford did last season any different to teams like Man City and Chelsea spending hundreds of millions more than anyone else?

    They're owned by the same family who own Udinese. They'll just sign these players instead for £0, and Udinese will sign them back for £0 if they need to.

    But as long as they're not loanees, everyone's happy?!

  • Comment posted by U14554139, at 15:09 6 Jun 2013

    Seems fair/sensible, can't punish Watford for playing the system so well last year but preventing it from happening again this year from the start of the transfer window is a sensible solution.

    Well done the Football League for getting one thing right in a season Portsmouth got out of a -25 points deduction for next year for no reason, at all.

    Probably should end Watford's embargo too really

  • Comment posted by bored23, at 14:58 6 Jun 2013

    4.Dazz0r

    Deary me, I came onto this board to get away from the childish, pathetic drivel being spouted by LFC fans today.

    Seriously this whole YNWA thing at the bottom of their comments is nothing short of 5 year old banter!

  • Comment posted by Andy_Carrolls_Barber, at 14:46 6 Jun 2013

    That lad Vydra was good though, right?

  • Comment posted by U15482958, at 16:13 6 Jun 2013

    How is it a loophole? A loophole implies that there is ambiguity in the law. The law is very clear....

  • Comment posted by Celts, at 19:55 6 Jun 2013

    Look at the comments in the lowest rated section, all from losers who pretend to support LFC and make bad comments to make LFC look bad. Don't get me wrong LFC have fans that pretend to support other clubs and make stupid comments as well, it's so pathetic. Do you all have nothing better to do with your lives.

  • Comment posted by Martin, at 17:47 6 Jun 2013

    I think that the loan system could be extended ... for supporters.

    All those fans who can't get into Old Trafford could be loaned out to, say, Bury, Rochdale or Accrington.

    Then they might all have a legitimate moan with their work colleagues on a Monday morning because they will have actually attended a live match!

  • Comment posted by TheHornet, at 14:08 7 Jun 2013

    @170

    Because the aim is to get to the Premiership and these players were not playing for Udinese. Ask Fernando Forestieri where he'd rather be, he signed a 5 and a half year deal with us in January. Once again, I advise you to read the Watford Observer article, our chief executive gives the exact details of why we had so many loans and our aims going forward.

  • Comment posted by U15563607, at 00:30 7 Jun 2013

    Everybody who is tweeting about the youth players not getting a chance, Watford fielded the second most home-grown players in the league last season. Many more than palace who had their fair share of loanees

  • Comment posted by U14410993, at 18:50 6 Jun 2013

    Quite right. Put little old Watford back where they belong. lets not have these little upstarts who want to build a sustainable operation. Leave the PL to the foreign owners who are willing to spend £50 million on a Torres or £30 million on a relatively unknown 28 year old Brazilian with 5 caps.

  • Comment posted by TheHornet, at 16:18 6 Jun 2013

    This won't be a problem for us as we can just sign the loans for free, but it's an interesting (and in my opinion moronic) school of thought that having multiple loans (albeit from the same club) is frowned upon but it's perfectly acceptable to rack up millions of pounds worth of debt through purchasing players, e.g. Cardiff, Leicester and most Premiership teams.

  • Comment posted by iamthebatman, at 15:07 6 Jun 2013

    An agent somewhere is going to make plenty of £££ dealing with all the paper work of various transfers between Udinese and Watford

  • Comment posted by TheHornet, at 13:44 7 Jun 2013

    @166

    So will you be happy when we sign the majority of the loans (Abdi, Ekstrand, Pudil, Anya, Battochio, possibly Vydra) on frees instead? The only reason we had so many loans was because we didn't have time to sign all the players before the end of the transfer window. Read the latest article in the 'Watford FC' section of the Watford Observer website to see what's happening.

  • Comment posted by swfblade, at 15:03 6 Jun 2013

    Oh and to add to my previous, surely this is a far better way to run a club, than to throw millions at it, bail and then leave a club in ruins, ala Pompy and others? At least Watford are going to be financially stable under this regime, surely that is a good thing for football?

  • Comment posted by U14430798, at 10:36 7 Jun 2013

    Leicester fan here. The "loophole" within the loan system had been there for quite a while. I'm surprised that nobody thought of using it before Watford did because it was really obvious for anyone knowing the rules. You can't blame a club for doing whatever is legal to give themselves an advantage but it is only fair that the rules are being changed. Hope I don't sound begrudging!

  • Comment posted by saneman, at 20:41 6 Jun 2013

    Loan players from ALL sources need to be curtailed. If clubs took more time to build sides then so much the better. Loan players are an impediment to team building and cohesion.

  • Comment posted by U15627930, at 18:52 6 Jun 2013

    Why is it the Football League always does the correct things and not the leading English league, the Premier League?

    This is a great idea, and hopefully will urge clubs to use their British youth. The PL would benefit by putting something like this, but on signings. So many overseas players can join in a certain period, hopefully allowing youth to come through!

    Wake up Premier League.

  • Comment posted by Yellow Peril, at 17:26 6 Jun 2013

    The offences which the Watford FC were found guilty of were committed by one or two individuals who are no longer associated with the club - and without the knowledge of the full Board of the club.
    Former Watford owner Laurence Bassini was banned from football for financial irregularities.
    Apparently he still gloats at the club’s failure to reach the Premier League.

  • Comment posted by U13938526, at 16:39 6 Jun 2013

    Shelvey the next Steven Gerrard? Never thought I'd ever hear anyone say that!

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