Martin O'Neill's fear over Gareth Barry buy-out

Apr 25 2008 By Bill Howell

MARTIN O'Neill has slammed a transfer ruling he believes is making a "mockery" of the game and that could effectively allow Gareth Barry to walk away from Villa for a pittance of his true market value.

Described as "the new Bosman," the ruling last summer saw Andy Webster break his contract with Hearts to move to Wigan and set a landmark precedent for players wanting to "buy" themselves out of clubs.

The footballing world is said to be at loggerheads with the courts over the law, which could mean Barry paying compensation for the time remaining on his £42,000-a-week contract.

Webster was told to pay Hearts £625,000 as compensation when his club were asking for £4million.

There has been speculation Chelsea's Frank Lampard might follow suit.

The likelihood is Barry would not go down the same route but the implications for Villa are severe and it is something they have to bear in mind ahead of contract talks.

Under Article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations, players who sign contracts when aged under 28 are able to unilaterally break those contracts after three years.

If the player is 28 or over, he can break his contract after two years.

O'Neill said: "No-one is happy with this ruling - UEFA, FIFA, no-one - because it really does make a mockery of of any sort of transfer or contract.

"The next time you go to negotiate with the players, you insert an outlandish buy-out clause.

"It's almost as if anyone over 29 gets a 10-day contract. I'm not sure about the finer details yet, but it's in the back of my mind because it puts a different slant on things."