Loose Cannon!: Reggie at QPR

I hope you're right. But there are a lot of ineptitudes in lots of clubs that are plenty big enough that you'd never expect them to make such errors. Like Antwerp very recently mistakenly not putting Sam Vines on their Champions League roster. Blunders like that (and in relation to failed transfers) are common enough.

 

True, but forgetting to put a submit a player's registration for a competition is one thing, registering a player who's under contract with a different club and that club is in another country is another matter altogether.

For a player to be transferred from Portugese club X to English club Y, club Y has to produce a FIFA International Transfer Certificate before the English FA (the federation) will register him to play in English competitions. If Reggie (i.e. his agent/lawyers) can produce that certificate, and the FA clears his registration, QPR and Reggie are in the clear and Boavista will have to take things up with the FA through their own federation.

Like you say, all kinds of things happen in football but there are going to be a lot of hoops to jump through on this one and incompetents aren't good at jumping through hoops. Fraudsters are, but the hoops tend to leave them exposed, which is a major deterrent for them.

 

Yes, which is why I originally said what will be interesting to see is when QPR tries to register him.

Question about International Transfer Certificates--what's the process by which a player would obtain their ITC? In this case, does Boavista need to give it to him, or is there some other mechanism that he could use to get one?

 

I mean, I bet that Dunkerque and Wigan thought the same thing when they signed Jean-Marc Bosman and Daniel Webster respectively.

I think this case is way less grey than those two, but that won't stop Boavista from tying things up in court if they want to.

 

My understanding is that the ITC isn't a literal piece of paper, it's a clearinghouse that is run by FIFA. Club A in country A submits a request to their FA, the FA for country A submits a request to FIFA, FIFA makes a request to country B's FA, country B's FA makes a request to club B who says "yes, we've signed the term papers for the sale of this player". The process ensures that Club A and Club B are in good standing with both their FA and FIFA.

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I believe that the final step is cut out for free agents. So Portugal's FA will still need to release Reggie's ITC, but they will not need to confer with Boavista. That said, in the RTSP, there is this provision:

So there is a high chance that Reggie's case will need to go to some type of court (possibly CAS or FIFA's internal Football Tribunal thingy) before he can be registered by QPR.

 

Cannon has successfully escaped Boavista, as he has now signed a 4 year contract with QPR on a free transfer.

QPR have completed the signing of Reggie Cannon on a free transfer, with the defender agreeing a four-year deal at Loftus Road.

The 25-year-old left Portugese side Boavista in June, meaning he has been able to join Rangers outside the transfer window.

https://www.qpr.co.uk/news/2023/september/26/defender-reggie-cannon-joins-qpr/

 

Very glad to hear it. I think Reggie can play. Like many players he needs to be in the right system. Hope this opportunity works out for him.

 

Suck it, Boavista! Glad Cannon got this move done. Best of luck!

 

So, what do you think will happen now that it appears QPR have “taken a risk” and Cannon is not “staying and fulfilling his contract?” What’s the word out of Portugal. Is Boavista going to fight this?

 

The only quote I'm seeing in the Portuguese media is the quote from the podcast that basically says "he's gonna have to prove his claims in court".

 

This will be pretty easy to prove or disprove. It’s a documents case. Did Reggie give Boavista 15 days notice to pay up? Did they do it?

page 19

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files...tus-and-transfer-of-players---march-2022.ashx

Judging by the fact the QPR went ahead and signed him…I’m guessing this ends in their/Reggie’s favor.

 

Again, this is similar to Andy Webster's logic when he invoked Article 17 to force a move to Wigan Athletic. It seems fine on face value, but gets more complex once a court is brought it to arbitrate. Maybe Boavista knows they're in the wrong and will drop the issue, or maybe Reggie won't be cleared to play for like 3 months, who knows?

 

QPR manager Gareth Ainsworth on Reggie Cannon: “I am really, really pleased to get this over the line. We have fought off clubs to get him and I believe Reggie will become a big asset for us." #USMNT pic.twitter.com/8Yu0zRLIbE

— Larry Henry Jr (@lhenry019) September 26, 2023

If the multiple clubs thing is true, then I think Reggie's termination is likely valid. But who knows, I think we'll find out more tomorrow.

 

That's helpful to know.

Although, I do see a slight caveat at the end of that paragraph: "Alternative provisions in contracts existing at the time of this provision coming into force may be considered."

Which makes me think it might not be as straightforward, depending on what the contract says.

 

Almost any complex contract is litigatible. The question is if there is any real reason for Boavista to spend the time and money and what damages they think they could obtain (or settle for). We shall, I suppose, see.

 

Gotta be mean as an angry snake to waste more money litigating this just to stop the guy from playing as long as possible instead of having used that money to pay him on time.

 

I think the argument for them beginning legal action is that while they haven't fully paid FCD for the transfer, they are still on the hook for that payment regardless of how the "Reggie -> QPR" situation plays out. The money they had hoped to generate from Reggie's future sale has now mostly disappeared, and anything they can regain from it is a plus.

Speaking personally, I agree with y'all that this is the "find out" part of Boavista "********ing around" by deferring their debts to various parties (from the reporting, they're being sued by other clubs, current AND former players, and vendors). But when you're looking at it from their perspective, they could potentially offset some losses by getting compensation through FIFA from either Reggie or QPR, and the other option is just to eat a massive loss...

 

If the Dallas/MLS contract has provisions stating that in case the buyer doesn't make enough money out of it, they can escape having to pay for the transfer, it'd be the first time I've ever seen one like that.

 

That's not what I'm saying at all. The money owed to FCD is non-negotiable, and what Boavista wants is money from Reggie or QPR to offset those losses. They're already deep in the hole... they literally cannot afford to get nothing of value from Reggie's tenure with the club. It doesn't matter if getting nothing is what they deserve (again, I agree with you that this IS what they "deserve"), it's just something they cannot afford.

 

I would not be surprised if QPR have a little something in a “here you go, now go away” fund for Boavista, but I really have no idea how much Boavista think they should/could get and how strong QPR might think their claim is. We shall see, I guess.

 

Yeah, if QPR (or Reggie, in the past FIFA has also made players compensate their former clubs for questionable terminations) pays anything, it'll be a few hundred thousand Euros, nowhere near the millions Boavista would need to offset the amount they owe to FCD. The worst part is that if Boavista does pursue this and FIFA/CAS takes the case, it will probably sideline Reggie for the duration of the proceedings.

 

There is a blurb at the end of Cannon’s arrival announcement on the QPR website….

“The transfer is subject to FIFA, FA and EFL approval, as well as international clearance.”

… that blurb doesn’t exist on a few other arrival announcements I checked on. Could be nothing, or the club acknowledging that there’s still work to be done.

 

Pretty standard for most signing announcements, but this one carries extra weight, because that means that the FA hasn't requested Reggie's ITC yet, and that's where Boavista is most likely able to gum up the process.

 

FC Dallas should try to put a lien on Boavista FC.