Clubs within their rights to withhold players from Olympics

The fuss and furor surrounding Barcelona's demand that star forward Lionel Messi not attend the 2008 Olympic Games football tournament in China is far too overblown. That they have won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is vindication that the club has been right all along.

From the standpoint of the clubs and fans, the point should be moot: if a club wants to keep a player back, it should since it pays the player's wages. The fans pay to watch the best players, so the best players should be on display.

That FIFA has failed to ensure that the Olympic football tournament is on their official calendar is central to why they are at fault on this issue.

FIFA sanctions the Olympic tournament, but since it is in essence under the purview of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC determines the dates for the tournament. Since the Games run during the latter part of August, players who participate in the Games will miss the opening weeks of the new football season, as well as UEFA sanctioned club competition matches.

Generally, FIFA (and UEFA) schedule their international competitions in conjunction with the leagues, which are in turn partnered to a greater or lesser extent with the national footballing associations. This means tournaments take place in June and July, while qualification takes place in those months or during agreed upon international breaks during the season. These breaks are typically 14 days or so in length.

Since the Olympic tournament does not follow these guidelines, how can FIFA or the IOC expect the clubs to release their players for the Summer Games? If the Olympics want the best players available for their tournament, they should hold their competition at the appropriate time.

As far as I'm concerned, the Olympic games should be for amateur athletes anyway, given that the vast majority of the competitors are amateurs.

That professional footballers are expected to compete at an amateur event, especially when there are professional level competitions like the World Cup, is absurd.