Modern Slavery

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has never known to be someone who is afraid of speaking his mind. And his outspokenness has landed him on the headlines once again.

It all happened when one of his key players, French international Claude Makelele, who has announced his retirement from international soccer after the World Cup, was named in the latest international squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Georgia and Italy, by coach Raymond Domenech.

Feeling a sense of injustice which he couldn't keep to himself, Mourinho blasted the French coach, or you may say international soccer on the whole, when he said that Makelele is treated like "a slave" by Domenech, for refusing to accept Makekele's international retirement. "He is not a football player. He's a slave," he said.

Mourinho's comment raised some eyebrows, as some consider that his words were simply too strong, as Makelele himself has since stated that he would like to resume his international career. Some even pointed out that Makelele is of African descent and Domenech, incidentally, is white.

For those who are wondering whether Makelele's refusal to play for France has anything to do with Chelsea, FIFA has recently announced recently that players refusing international call-ups may face a ban from playing for their clubs.

And Makelele started and did play well in France's 3-0 victory at Georgia. And he looked like a happy camper, and has no complaint about resuming his international career.

Despite his outlandish claim, Mourinho did have a point.

With the gluttony of matches throughout the season at both the club and international levels, it's up to the club managers to select his best possible squad without compromising the well-being (physical and monetary) of his players. There have been many instances where managers are forced to rest their key players in equally important club matches, just because they have been called upon for international duty.

Worse still, it is the club who suffers the most when their player is injured in international duty, and is forced to miss games for the club. Belgian club SC Charleroi has recently filed a lawsuit against FIFA, when its start player, Moroccan international Abdelmajid Oulmers, suffered a serious ankle injury in a friendly match against Burkina Faso in November 2004, costing him eight months of action. If the claim is upheld, there are bound to be serious ramifications regarding the relationship between club and international soccer. The likely consequences would be FIFA investing in insurance policies on the clubs' and players' behalf, and FIFA making monetary rewards to the clubs for releasing their players.

But doesn't it sound very much like slavery, all over again?