FIFA president Sepp Blatter has vowed to ensure that clubs will be obliged to release under-23 players for the London 2012 Olympic football tournament.
A court decision yesterday handed power to clubs to refuse to release any players for the Games, threatening the plans for London 2012 tournament.
But Blatter insisted he will use Fifa's ruling Congress to have it enshrined in the rules that clubs
must release under-23 olds for the Olympics.
Blatter said: "For 2012 we will have the solution. We will establish it in our regulations or even in our statutes. The Fifa Congress is sovereign and we'll bring this to the next Congress.
"I gulped when I heard the (court's] decision. It's sad to see such a decision handed down, putting in danger the entire football tournament."
Meanwhile, the three players at the centre of the case decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport will remain at the Beijing Games despite their clubs' victory. Argentina's Lionel Messi (Barcelona), and Brazilians Diego (Werder Bremen) and Rafinha (Schalke) will take part after the clubs said it was too late in the day to recall them.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said he would work with Blatter to resolve the situation – and that it could be easily done if the tournament was included as part of the official international calendar.
Rogge said: "The solution is very easy – if Fifa would put the Olympic men's tournament on the combined programme then it's solved because then clubs would be under obligation to release their players."
The full article contains 261 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
