Another controversy has been caused this week by fixture congestion and the struggle between club and country for the services of a player. Real Madrid star Robinho has been called up by Brazil for the Copa America which begins on 26th June in Venezuela. Real Madrid obviously want Robinho for their game with Mallorca this Sunday. Fifa rules state that before on official tournament players must join their national teams for a preparation period of 14 days. There was even talk earlier this week that Madrid could have points deducted if they did not release their player. Now, however, Fifa have decided to make an exception and allow Robinho to stay with Madrid until Monday. To make things worse, Fifa president Sepp Blatter declared in an interview with Marca at the end of May that his “heart is with Madrid”.

While I think the Fifa rule is wrong, it is the rule and should be the same for everyone. On the other hand, it is ridiculous that any club in the situation of playing for the league on the last game of the season, should face the prospect of losing players for international duty. Why does the Spanish league finish so late compared to other European leagues? One thing that needs to be done is to play the Copa del Rey over one leg and not two. It is also the time to call for the head of Ángel Villar, the incompetent president of the Spanish Football Federation.