The Olympic football tournament and the CAS

So it appears that football clubs have won another battle with national assosciations after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that clubs should not have to release their under-23 players for the Olympic Games (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/football/7518008.stm). The CAS has ruled that the tournament is not part of the international football calender and henceforth clubs are under no legal obligation to release players for the competition.

FIFA, for what it's worth, had reiterated in the past week that clubs must allow their young players to join up with their national squads for the competition whilst allowing clubs discretion with regard to over-23s who had been selected. Most people, I presume having plucked this idea out of thin air, would support this stance. After all, the Olympic football tournament is supposed to be an under-23 event with each side allowed to call upon three older players to participate. It's unreasonable to expect clubs to release their more senior players to compete in what is essentially a youth tournament that occurs in conjunction with the beginning of the Western European football season.

However Barcelona, Schalke, and Werder Bremen lodged a joint complaint to the CAS to prevent their respective under-23 players from appearing at the Games. Regardless of whether or not the Games are perceived to be an officially recognised international tournament, surely it's out of order for clubs to deny their players a probable once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in an Olympic Games? Only an imbecile would not want the opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal?

It's highly likely that Barcelona are now going to demand the immediate return of Leo Messi, who himself has stated that he wants to participate in the tournament, in order for him to appear in Barca's Champions' League Qualifiers. It seems bizarre that clubs so vehemently want to recall their players who are entitled to be aggreived at being denied the opportunity to represent their country. Surely allowing their players to gain confidence and fitness from participating in an international tournament is more important than risking having a player at odds with the management for denying him an opportunity to play in a massive international competition?

Obviously clubs don't want their players to get injured on international duty but no club would dare attempt to remove a player from a European or World Cup squad, regardless of their fitness concerns. Of course, those competitions don't usually disrupt major European schedules, but the Olympics are hardly eating into a big chunk of the season. They're barely disruptive to the domestic calender. And Barcelona, Werder, and Schalke are large clubs who should surely be able to compete without one of their players for two and a half weeks at most? And as soon as the players return, which for some will be very soon if their sides don't progress, they'll be able to blend straight back into first team football as the Games will supplement their pre-season training. Hopefully players will reject their clubs' demands and remain in Beijing if they wish to. There's been a lot of talk about player power recently but here's one instance where most people will gladly side with the individual over the club.

Here's hoping that Messi and company get to stay in Beijing, less for the defiance of the European clubs, and more for the entertainment they'll provide by being there. Under-23 football beats pre-season friendlies, European club qualifiers and Bryan Swanson's shit-eating grin any day.