Fergie and Wenger join forces in poach row
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Sir Alex Ferguson has joined forces with old foe Arsene Wenger in speaking out against the “poaching” scandal, which has plagued the reputation of English football.
International governing bodies, Uefa and FIFA, want to outlaw the overseas transfers of players under the age of 18, following claims from abroad that Premier League clubs are guilty of “child slavery and trafficking.”
Both Ferguson and Arsenal boss Wenger have been quick to defend their respective clubs’ stance over the signing of young players from abroad, but the United chief in particular, is adamant his club have been dragged into the issue because of their global status.
“They are always going to bring Manchester United into it, because we are the biggest club,” said the Red Devils boss.
“I can assure you that Manchester United have behaved absolutely correctly with all their dealings with young players and their parents. What other clubs do is subject to a lot of controversy, but we are confident of our own club.”
And Gunners boss Wenger, who has a long history of developing young talent signed from around the globe, was equally as defensive of his own club’s transfer proceedings.
“If your players cannot move to the best clubs, I believe they will not improve,” Wenger said. “If a player goes to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, it is all clean and he gets a good education.
“If you have a child who is a good musician, your reaction is to put it into a good music school, not an average one, so why should that not happen in football?”
Another headache for Wenger will be the absence of Russian ace Andrey Arshavin, who has been ruled out of Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures with Manchester City, Standard Liege and Wigan after aggravating a groin injury on international duty with Russia.