Masewera Tv - Latest News
Corona-virus Is God’s Yellow Card To The World’-MICHO
The former Orlando Pirates coach is confident that African football will bounce back stronger when COVID-19 subsides
Zambia national team coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic believes that when football returns, it should be used to heal people from the “trauma and torture” brought by the coronavirus pandemic, which he describes as “God’s yellow card to humanity.”
With football on a halt in most countries around the world, Sredojevic is confident that the game will not lose its mass appeal and beauty if action resumes.
Narrowing his views on African football, the ex-Orlando Pirates coach says that this period of inactivity should be used for self-examination to correct any wrongs.
“I believe that African football will come back strong after this break in terms of club and national football. Why do I believe in this? I believe in this because this COVID-19 [pandemic] is like an invisible yellow card that we have from God and Mother Nature,” Sredojevic told Goal.
“In that regard, I would like to say that we need to do some introspection as humanity about what we have done wrong.
“We need to find ways out of this situation to reflect inside ourselves to be much better than we have ever been.
“To love life and respect the rules that are written anywhere and not allow any more time for what is happening to humanity to come back.
“I strongly believe that all of us being in isolation and quarantine, we have enough time to think about everything and to bounce back stronger and be hungry for football.
“For the people out of football, we need to heal their souls with football.
“For us within football, we need to find a way and be hungry for football and bounce back extremely strong and give our best in overall humanity recovering from the trauma and torture that COVID-19 did to all of us on this planet.”
The Serb has, however, admitted that the suspension of football affected planning as he was gearing up for his first competitive assignments as Zambia’s coach.
Zambia was due to take on Botswana in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the end of March and then participate in the African Nations Championship (Chan) finals this April.
“[The] postponement of Afcon qualifiers and Chan tournament due to the COVID-19 [outbreak] has been a huge setback for all of us working in football,” continued Sredojevic.
“However, we need to understand that no football is more important than human lives. I would say it affected our planning, but we need to look forward and beyond this COVID-19 crisis we are going through.”
Following the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19 at all levels of football, FIFA has worked on a series of recommendations and guidelines to address some of the key practical issues arising from the pandemic, especially with regard to player contracts and the transfer system generally.
This has been done in consultation with different stakeholders through a task force chaired by the FIFA Vice-President and chairman of the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee, Vittorio Montagliani, and including representatives of clubs, players, leagues, national associations, and confederations.
A set of principles has been unanimously agreed upon by the task force and was endorsed by the Bureau of the FIFA Council today.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly changed all the factual circumstances around football for this season. So, FIFA, together with the stakeholders, has come up with some practical ideas and proposals to tackle these new circumstances. Whilst this will not solve each problem, it should serve to bring a measure of stability and clarity to football for the foreseeable future. We hope that this collaborative effort, under the leadership of FIFA, can provide a positive example of how football can come together and show unity, solidarity, and a spirit of compromise in order to face the challenging times ahead. But before these times come, one thing must be clear to everyone, especially now: health comes first, well before football,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Below is a summary of the main guidelines approved, which FIFA both hopes and expects will be followed around the world.
Expiry and commencement of player contracts:
Expiring player contracts usually end when the season ends, with a termination date that coincides with the end of the season. With the current suspension of play in most countries, it is now obvious that the current season will not end when people thought it would. Therefore, it is proposed that contracts be extended until such time that the season does actually end. This should be in line with the original intention of the parties when the contract was signed and should also preserve sporting integrity and stability.
A similar principle applies to contracts due to begin when the new season starts, meaning the entry into force of such contracts is delayed until the next season actually does start.
Football employment agreements that can no longer be performed:
The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly had a major impact on the revenues of clubs, not least since matches cannot be played. Football, like other sectors of the economy, has to find fair and equitable solutions tailored to these circumstances, hopefully with a view to protecting jobs and achieving a fair and reasonable balance of interests between players and clubs.
Accordingly, FIFA strongly encourages clubs and players to work together to find agreements and solutions during the period when football is suspended.
While it is primarily up to the relevant parties at national level to find solutions to fit the circumstances in their own country, FIFA recommends looking at all aspects of each situation in an even handed manner, including what government measures are there to support clubs and players, whether pay should be deferred or reduced and what insurance coverage may exist.
If parties cannot agree and, as a consequence, cases come to FIFA, the factors to be examined will include the following:
- whether there was a genuine attempt by the club to reach agreement with the players;
- what the economic situation of the club is;
- the proportionality of any adjustment to player contracts;
- the net income position of players after any contract adjustment; and
- whether players have been treated equally or not.
In this way, FIFA hopes that it will be able to find solutions that are fair and balanced for both sides.
Transfer windows:
With regard to transfer windows, again, it is necessary to adjust the normal regulatory position to the new factual circumstances. Accordingly, FIFA will be flexible and will allow the relevant transfer windows to be moved so they fall between the end of the old season and the start of the new season.
At the same time, FIFA will try to ensure, where possible, an overall level of coordination and will also bear in mind the need to protect the regularity, integrity and proper functioning of competitions, so that the sporting results of any competition are not unfairly disrupted.
Further background and details concerning the guidelines approved by the Bureau of the Council can be found in the COVID-19: Football Regulatory Issues document.