Three weeks ago we learned that the Championship’s runaway leaders Queen Park Rangers will face disciplinary action from the FA for breaches pertaining to the transfer of Argentine midfielder Alejandro Faurlin. Prior to that, Manchester City defender Kolo Toure was suspended after failing a drug test.
The charges facing QPR relate to third-party ownership, use of an unlicensed agent and providing false information to the FA.
Third-party ownership is an increasingly prevalent practice in football, particularly in South America. It is however, prohibited in English football. The FA introduced regulations in 2009 preventing clubs from “enter[ing] into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its team” following the infamous Carlos Tevez affair in 2007.
Given the controversy and intense publicity surrounding the Tevez affair, it is staggering to learn that QPR acted so carelessly in the acquisition of Alejandro Faurlin.
However, the Loftus Road side may be able to take solace from the Tevez affair. The FA has a discretionary range of punishments at its disposal. When punishing West Ham United in 2007, the FA decided that docking points was “not proportionate” and instead opted to issue a £5m fine.
Whilst QPR may have mitigating factors working in their favour, it is hard to feel any sympathy for Kolo Toure. Toure’s recklessness in failing to check whether his wife’s diet pills violated doping rules was inexcusable.
All PFA members receive documents listing banned substances, and are able to use a website to check whether specified supplements or medicines contain any such substances. Toure, along with the rest of the Manchester City squad, was visited by PFA representatives earlier this season.
Although QPR and Manchester City compete in different tiers of English football, the timing and severity of the aforementioned incidents could prove to be crucial turning points in their respective campaigns.
QPR, who lead the Championship table by nine points with eight games remaining, could see their chances of automatic promotion to the Premier League dashed if the FA decides to punish the Hoops by way of a points deduction. Manchester City, on the hand, must now battle to secure FA Cup success and Champions League qualification without the services of their most experienced centre-back.
The fact that the stakes are so high for both clubs means that the carelessness of QPR’s hierarchy and Kolo Toure are extremely hard to fathom.
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