In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, FIFA recommended Monday to find salary agreements with footballers to relieve weakened clubs and to extend contracts beyond June 30 to be able to end the season, we learned from close sources of the international federation.
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In a set of guidelines established in agreement with the confederations, Fifa, wanting to be "flexible", also recommended to postpone the opening of the transfer market until the current season is not over.
Faced with the coronavirus pandemic which has had "a major impact" on club revenues, football "must find just and fair solutions (...) with the objective of protecting jobs," said Fifa, according to sources interviewed by AFP.
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The Zurich-based body, which set up a working group on the consequences of the coronavirus crisis on March 18, "strongly encourages clubs and players" to work together to find agreements and solutions during the suspension of competitions national and international.
Fifa suggests studying what measures are possible, "including government measures" to support clubs and players, whether wages "be delayed or reduced" and whether an insurance system may apply.
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It is also suggested that players' contracts, including loans, "be extended to the end of the current season", in order to preserve "sporting integrity and stability".
Opinions that serve only as recommendations
These Fifa directives are only recommendations because it is national law, in particular labor law that applies in each state. But these instructions "are important and were expected to the extent that Fifa has moral authority," said a source close to the discussions.
Regarding the transfer window which was to open this summer, Fifa will "push back the transfer windows so that they fall between the end of the current season and the start of the next one."
In a set of guidelines established in agreement with the confederations, Fifa, which will be "flexible", also recommends postponing the opening of the transfer market until the current season is over.