By Mike Woitalla
Shock waves were sent through U.S. Soccer when a close look at the FIFA eligibility rules revealed that Claudio Reyna is technically ineligible to play in this summer’s Olympic Games.
FIFA is reviewing a request from U.S. Soccer to grant eligibility to Reyna, on whom it is counting to lead the United States at Atlanta ’96.
U.S. Soccer and coach Bruce Arena have long been aware that under-23 players like Reyna, who participated in the 1992 Games, are ineligible because FIFA is restricting players from participating in a particular age-group championship more than once. But the U.S. assumed that Reyna could play as a “wild-card” player. The three wild-card designations were ostensibly designed to allow teams to field three over-age players.
But when the Australian Soccer Federation queried FIFA about whether it could use a wild-card spot so that under-23 players could participate in more than one Olympic tournament, it was told it could not. That set off the alarm bells within the U.S. camp.
“We are awaiting clarification,” said Sunil Gulati, the MLS deputy commissioner who has long handled international affairs for the federation.
FIFA’s eligibility rules state that a player who has already played in the Olympics “shall not be permitted to play in this Olympic Football Tournament (this ruling does not apply to the three aforementioned players).” The three aforementioned players are players “who are older than the stipulated age limit.”
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 1973, are eligible as U-23 players.
On June 10, FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said that Reyna was ineligible, but FIFA would send out a press release on the “Reyna case” within a week. On June 11, FIFA director of communications Keith Cooper told Soccer America’s Duncan Irving, “As Reyna played in Barcelona, he can’t play again.”
“It may seem Draconian,” Cooper said, “but we’re trying to protect the senior teams and the Olympics as a way to promote players from junior teams.”
“It makes no sense,” U.S. Soccer president Alan Rothenberg told SA’s Ridge Mahoney. “Alexi [Lalas] can play in a second Olympics because he’s older, but Claudio can’t because he’s too young? You can take the star of your World Cup team, put him in there, and who cares how old he is?”
Cooper said FIFA is reviewing a protest from U.S. Soccer. He said that it points out that under FIFA’s original eligibility cutoff — Aug. 1, 1973 —
Reyna would indeed count as an overage player, and thus eligible for a wild-card spot. That date was changed before February 1995, when Reyna was first brought into the U.S. Olympic camp by then-coach Timo Liekoski.
“We inquired specifically about Claudio Reyna last year,” Rothenberg said, “and FIFA told us he would be able to play. We thought it was important enough to ask about it one year ago.”
FIFA has not confirmed whether it ever gave U.S. Soccer the impression that Reyna could be eligible.
Cooper implied that Reyna’s chances hinge on FIFA’s consideration that he was born July 20, 1973 — during the “window” between the date changes.
There is a precedent for FIFA changing its interpretation of Article 19 “Eligibility of Players,” which also states that players who played in a preliminary Olympic tournament are ineligible for the next Olympic tournament.
In March, Canada was given permission to field players in CONCACAF qualifiers who played in 1992 qualifiers.