The dream of every elite footballer is to represent the national team one day. Defending the colours of their country is one of the greatest honours for many of the athletes who aspire to play for La Roja. This is what Aymeric Laporte said at a press conference before his debut at Euro 2024: “It is an honour to represent Spain, it is one of the most important things in my sporting career.” Although not everything that glitters is gold. The participation of footballers in international tournaments has some risks, especially for sports clubs, who fear that their stars may suffer injuries during the tournament. For this reason, teams try to protect their players with life-saving clauses to prevent any circumstance that could harm their interests, both at a sporting and economic level. Sports clubs have no choice but to let their players go with the national team to try to bring home gold. The Sports Law establishes that teams are obliged to release their players in case the Spanish federation claims them. And if they refuse, they can face harsh sanctions. According to José Lasa, a lawyer specialising in sports law and a partner at Laffer Abogados, preventing sportsmen from representing Spain “is a very serious offence, which can be punished with financial fines, temporary disqualification or even the loss of their federation licence”, he says. Similarly, players cannot reject the call-up to the national team. The law also establishes sanctions for footballers who turn their backs on playing for Spain. Fines can reach up to 30,000 euros, and, in addition, the suspension of the licence to play can be imposed for two to fifteen years, as stated in the Disciplinary Code of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The only option for players to reject the call-up to the national team is to claim that the time has come to hang up their boots and retire. Or, they can prove that they are injured or ill, as has already happened with players like Gavi, Balde or Isco Alarcón, who have left their place with the national team due to serious injuries during the current campaign. But clubs do not just release their players. Teams cannot risk loaning out their top-level players with the risk that they return with a medical certificate under their arm. Not only because they would have to pay the player's salary, but also because it could harm the team's objectives in the league competitions. For this reason, clubs agree with the Spanish federation or with the international football association (FIFA) on an insurance that can benefit them financially in the event that a player is injured. If a player is injured during the tournament, teams can use the Club Protection Program. This is a text drawn up by the Spanish federation through which they can protect the safety of their players. In the event that a player is sidelined, explains Iñigo de Lacalle, partner at Senn Ferrero & Asociados, clubs have the right “to pay compensation in cases of incapacitating injury based on the player’s salary and with certain limits and exemptions depending on the duration of the injury and the circumstances.” In other words, clubs can collect the player’s salary for the duration of the injury. For example, in the hypothetical case that Morata were to be injured for six months, Atlético de Madrid could collect the player’s monthly salary until he was given the medical all-clear.
Temporary suspension
Another problem that clubs have when international tournaments such as the Euro Cup arrive is that they have to continue paying the salaries of the footballers despite not providing their services for the entity to which they are linked under an employment contract. For this reason, in some situations, teams “have temporarily suspended the players' contracts,” says José Lasa. In this way, the athletes did not receive a single euro of their salary until the international tournament ended. However, the expert clarifies, this practice is no longer in common use and is used “only in situations where the call is not one of the FIFA dates on the calendar”, such as the Olympic Games. The reason behind this lesser use of temporary contract suspensions is that, since the players cannot refuse to go with the national team, their participation in the Euro Cup should not, in any case, be “an economic detriment for the players.” , explains the expert. Although the clubs are obliged to give up their players, they do not receive any financial compensation in return. However, footballers can pocket some profits for representing their country. As specified by Carlos Hurtado, senior associate of the labor department and specialist in sports law at Baker Mckenzie, the federation usually agrees on bonuses with players in international competitions. According to the expert, players “receive a percentage for participating in the competition, win games, advance to the round and win the competition.” If so, at this point, the La Roja players will have already received some bonus for advancing to the round of 16 of the Euro Cup. Meanwhile, the clubs are praying that their players return in one piece and are at their best for next season.
The case of Mbappé
The new Real Madrid player, Kylian Mbappé, will not participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to the sports media, the merengue club asked the player not to participate in the event. In this case, unlike the Euro Cup, both the club and the players can refuse to attend the national team. Iñigo de Lacalle, partner at Senn Ferrero & Asociados, explains that footballers only have «the obligation to go with the national team in the periods and matches included in the FIFA international calendar.» In the case of the Olympics, as they are not part of said calendar, “it is not mandatory to attend,” says the lawyer. Follow all the information from Economy and Business on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter