Transfer policy unclear

MARKET CONDITIONS will set the level for transfer fees and players' salaries, not Fifa, Sepp Blatter, the president of football's world governing body, said yesterday. But his remarks appeared to run counter to those made recently by Fifa's secretary-general.

MARKET CONDITIONS will set the level for transfer fees and players' salaries, not Fifa, Sepp Blatter, the president of football's world governing body, said yesterday. But his remarks appeared to run counter to those made recently by Fifa's secretary-general.

"I believe we should not put limits on transfers or cap salaries," Blatter said. "It's the law of supply and demand, it's business. The market will decide. One day there will not be enough money and the salaries will reduce. We should not copy North American sports this way. The only way we should copy North America is to have professional referees."

But three weeks ago Fifa's secretary general, Michel Zen-Ruffinen, told a conference on the future of sport on television that the ruling body planned to bring in new rules to stem the rise of the number of matches and stop transfer fees from spiralling out of control.