English Football Coach Denies Child Slavery Accusations

by Amanda Kloer · 2009-05-05 12:00:00 UTC
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It's a common stereotype that Europeans take their football very, very seriously.  But seriously enough to traffic children by fraudulent recruiting practices?  Let's hope not.

Recently, Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has accused Arsene Wegner, coach of the English football club Arsenal of unjust signing practices with young players that amount to kidnapping and child trafficking. 

One like Arsene Wenger signs hosts of players from France and elsewhere year-in year-out. We have to take care that this sort of child trafficking is stopped. This has taken on a different scale in the meantime; the word kidnapping is not too far off anymore.

Wegner is outraged at the accusations, and claims that he simply has a skill for finding young talent and nurturing it.

The issue at controversy is the transfer fee which players receive when signing on with a team.  Wegner has focused his recruiting practices on very young players who are largely unknown, signing them for very low fees, and then profiting when they grow into top players.  Rummenigge cites the example of Cesc Fabregas, a Spanish player who Wegner plucked from Barcelona when he was only 15 for a very low transfer fee.  Fabregas would have been entitled to more money a year later. 

While Wegner's recruiting practices may not be fully within the ethical guidelines of football recruitment, they don't seem to amount to child trafficking.  Recruting young, unknown, and inexperienced players with raw talent is something that almost all coaches at all levels in all sports have tried to do.  It keeps team payroll affordable and gives rookies a chance to showcase their skill, even if they haven't had a lot of experience.  Child trafficking is a serious crime and a serious accusation.  And why there may have been some unethical treatment of these young players, it's important to remember that not all unethical treatment of children amounts to trafficking.

I'm going to need to see a lot more evidence before I give Wegner a red card for this one. 

image from football-guide.org 

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
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