Courtois cleared to play Chelsea, says £5m Atletico demand would violate rules

Source: pointblanknews.com

baut Courtois has been given the green light to face Chelsea after UEFA warned the Blues their demand  of  £5million from Atletico Madrid to play the on-loan goalkeeper was against the rules.

UEFA have acted quickly to block off the Stamford Bridge club's move, which could have seen the Spanish club's star keeper ruled out of the match if they were drawn against each other in the Champions League semi-finals.

Cash-strapped Atletico would have struggled to find the money for the fee, but this has now been ruled out by the governing body

A statement from UEFA said: 'The integrity of sporting competition is a fundamental principle for UEFA. Both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations contain clear provisions which strictly forbid any club to exert, or attempt to exert, any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match.

'It follows that any provision in a private contract between clubs which might function in such a way as to influence who a club fields in a match is null, void and unenforceable so far as UEFA is concerned.

'Furthermore, any attempt to enforce such a provision would be a clear violation of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and would therefore be sanctioned accordingly.'

 
The Chelsea keeper has been on loan at Atletico for three seasons but the Madrid club's president, Enrique Cerezo, told Spanish radio after the quarter-final triumph over Barcelona they would be 'unable to pay' the added fees which were part of the loan agreement.

Courtois, 21, who will represent Belgium at the summer World Cup, has yet to play for Chelsea, although he has been earmarked as Petr Cech's successor.