São Paulo may face exclusion from the prestigious Taça Belo Horizonte youth tournament, after rival clubs threatened not to play should they be included.
The Mineiro Football Federation (FMF), who organise the tournament, sent official invites on Wednesday, and have already received acceptances, on the condition that São Paulo are excluded.
The issue boils down to São Paulo’s controversial wave of youth recruitment, breaking a “code of ethics” signed by the 40 clubs of Serie A and B just last year. The code prohibited clubs from recruiting players under the age of 17 without their current club’s knowledge.
The rules are designed to stop the poaching of talents at a young age, before they are legally old enough to sign professional forms.
São Paulo are alleged to have signed two players from Ponte Preta, two from Grêmio Prudente and one from Corinthians—all of whom break the terms of the agreement. Vasco are also challenging the case of Foguete, a right-back who left the Carioca club for São Paulo citing unpaid wages.
The issue has come to the fore in the past few months as clubs seek to adapt to the new rules. São Paulo, who are investing heavily in youth at present, will have to wait and see whether their policies will come back to affect their participation in upcoming tournaments.
The club already face an official boycott of the Copa 2 de Julho Under-17 tournament in Bahia, should they participate, while their participation at other tournaments is also believed to be under threat.
Source: Lancenet
