Rules regarding Non-EU Players in Italy
The situation in Italy is more complex and some Italian clubs are laboring under confusion in regards to the rules of recruiting the players who don’t have the European citizenship. According to the common belief, the clubs can sign two non-EU players from foreign clubs every year and the Serie A sides are trying to push that limit to ‘3’.
The most crucial step is to define what is meant by “European Citizenship”. In Italian transfer market, any player possessing a passport issued by a country belonging to the European Union or the European Economic Area (It refers to EU and Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) is considered a “European” player. In addition, Switzerland is also considered a European country by Italian football though it is not included in either of the aforementioned associations. The players who do not meet the aforementioned criteria are considered as non-EU players.
The rules in regards to signing non-EU players are different in four professional levels of Italian football. Lega Pro sides from both divisions might not be entitled to purchase any non-EU player. In Serie B, every team is allowed to buy non-EU players from another Italian club of all levels.
The detailed set of rules for Serie A is as follows (as per summer 2013):
If any Serie A side had none or only one non-EU player in the list on 30th June, 2013, it is allowed to sign non-EU players from foreign clubs till the limit of three is not crossed, without any kind of restriction.
If anySerie A club has in its rooster two non-EU players on June 30, 2013, it is entitled to purchase one more non-EU player form an offshore club without any kind of restriction till the limit of three is not crossed. Moreover, the club can recruit another additional non-EU player from a foreign club if the newly purchased can take place of a non-EU player by fulfilling at least, one of the following three conditions:
- The replaced player has been sold out to a foreign club
- The replaced player’s contract ended on June 30, 2013.
- The replaced player got his European citizenship after 1st February, 2013.
If any Serie A side has three or more non-EU players in their list on 30th June, 2013, the club is allowed to purchase two non-EU players from offshore clubs, if both of the newly recruited can replace a non-EU player by fulfilling any of the following three conditions:
- The replaced player has been sold to a foreign club
- The replaced player’s contract ended on June 30, 2013 (This condition is applicable to any one of the replaced players).
- The replaced player received European citizenship after 1st February, 2013
Serie A teams are eligible to sign non-EU players from the Italian transfer market without facing any restriction. The non-EU players who have been signed during the summer transfer drive may not be put on sale until the opening of the next transfer window.
Every Serie A rule applies to only full transfers and not to loans. If a player is farmed out on a loan, even to a foreign side, he will still be counted as the non-EU player.
- See more at:
http://www.golden-goals.com/content/rules-for-non-eu-players#sthash.1WpGLbkp.dpuf