Not many outside of the country may have heard of Chilean football club Rangers, until now that is. For following the word of the law, the Chilean FA sent Rangers into the relegation zone in protest of which, the club decided to take the FA to court. FIFA didn’t take this matter kindly and decided to threaten the team to withdraw its lawsuit.
The whole matter kicked off when Chilean club side, Rangers, decided to field 6 foreign players in the 2009 Apertura tournament. Things were going well until someone in the FA realised that 6 is actually above the limit of 5 foreign players that a team is allowed to field in a game. Promptly, the FA swooped in to scoop up three points from the Rangers’ total and as things would have it, those three points were all that were holding the club above the relegation zone.
Now without these points, Rangers fell into the well and were relegated from the top flight. The team decided to move court to get the decision reversed, a move that sent the wrong signals about government & legal intervention in Chilean football or football in general. FIFA decided to take matters differently and threatened the Chilean federation that if the Association fails to take matters into their own hands, FIFA will be forced to let the Chilean national team bear the brunt of this matter.
FIFA sent a statment to the Chilean federation stating:
“We beseech your association to call on your affiliated club… to withdraw the case it took to the Chilean courts of justice within the next 72 hours or… announce the pertinent sanctions against your affiliated club.
“If your association does not adopt the necessary measures as we have indicated, the case will be put to Fifa’s executive committee in its session of December 3, 2009 in Cape Town… so it considers imposing a suspension against (the ANFP).”
Chile, who qualified for the World Cup in South Africa 2010, were quick to take a decision on the matter and the club decided to withdraw its case from civil courts. Chile will, thus, have no problems in appearing for the World Cup, their first appearances since 1998.