French footballers' union may sue PSG over Mbappe
The French Footballers Union have threatened legal action against PSG over its treatment of Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe has been left out of the Ligue 1 champions' squad for their tour of Japan, with the club now attempting to force through an exit for their superstar. The France captain has revealed he will leave the Parc des Princes at the end of his contract, which expires next summer.
PSG are desperate to receive at least some fee in return for their record goalscorer and are taking measures to move him on immediately. The latest action has seen them 'loft' Mbappe from Luis Enrique's squad.
Clubs in France are allowed to participate in this practice from 1 July until 31 August, taking them out of training sessions while awaiting an exit. But they must be reintegrated after that two-month period ends.
But PSG's move to 'loft' Mbappe has left the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionels furious. Now, the union has threatened to take action to have 'lofting' outlawed by the French government in a statement released on Saturday.
It read: "At the start of each season, it's the same tune, the same summer hit, borrowed from dear Michel Polnareff: 'I loft you, because…' Players deemed 'undesirable' or that the clubs want to see leave at all costs, despite respecting the contracts signed in good and due form.
"Freely fixed-term contracts by mutual agreement, therefore, between an employer and an employee. Like this young international, a real hope for French football, sidelined since the resumption of training and who knows nothing today of his future.
"For the respect, in France, of the signed contracts! For the UNFP, there is no difference. There never will be. Since the lofts have polluted French football, the UNFP has constantly denounced this practice."
The UNFP are hoping that the 'lofting' of Mbappe, who is captain of the French national team, will thrust the issue back into the spotlight. And they are confident that any legal action they take would be successful.
The statement continued: "The dismissal of the captain of the French team, will perhaps encourage – because it takes courage to attack PSG, Qatar, and the rest – sports and political bodies to finally take up the case, unless, in France, employees can be prevented from exercising their professional activity with complete impunity.
"We remember here that the UNFP is still waiting for the Minister of Sports to design to meet with us to discuss this subject. As of September 1, under Article 507 of the Charter, clubs will be required to reinstate all players who have been sidelined in the professional group. All.
"Those they want more of, those who want to leave free, all those with whom they have signed contracts, sometimes even extension clauses. Until then, these players, all these players, must benefit from the same working conditions as the rest of the professional workforce.
"It nevertheless seems useful to the UNFP to remind managers that exerting pressure on an employee – via the deterioration of his working conditions for example – to force him to leave or to accept what the employer wants constitutes moral harassment, which French law strongly condemns.
"The decision of the Reims Appeals Chamber in January 2020 confirms this. So, yes, the UNFP reserves the right to take all civil and criminal proceedings against clubs that behave in this way."
