FIFA thumbs-up for 'six-plus-five rule'

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FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said he hopes the controversial rule, which would limit every team to only five foreign players in their starting XI, will be in place by the 2012/13 season.

After Friday's vote at FIFA's annual congress in Sydney, Australia, Blatter told a press conference: "Inside the congress of FIFA we had sunshine on different items, important ones. Because we were somewhere in the crossroad between the interests of clubs and national teams, and the congress of FIFA has given very clear indications of where we have to go."

He added: "Together with the chairman of FIFA's football committee, Mr Franz Beckenbauer, and Michel Platini, we come to this resolution.

"The congress was very happy in a result of overwhelming majority, with 155 votes in favour and five against. 155 yes and five no. It is an overwhelming support to this resolution.

"The FIFA president has asked, together with the UEFA president, to explore - and explore is not to discuss, it's to go in depth - within the limits of the law.

"The application of such a system would start only at the end of 2010 and we would start progressively with four, five and six.

Despite FIFA backing the plan, the European Union has already indicated it would contravene European laws with Europe's commissioner for equal opportunities, Vladimir Spidla stating on Wednesday: "We are giving the red card to the 6-plus-5 rule."

But Blatter said: "Speaking about it is illegal? For whom? For when? If there is a law, a law can be amended.

"I have already now a meeting with the speaker of the European parliament - chairman as we say, but you say in the British version, the speaker - on June 5 in the afternoon in Brussels, as he said, to explore now the ways. If he says to explore the ways, it's not to say 'stop it', so you see we're on the right track."