Alejandro Faurlín transfer to QPR saw Instituto de Córdoba paid nothing

Posted Friday, March 11, 2011 by theguardian.com

• QPR say 2009 deal for Argentine was 'worth £3.5m'
• Faurlín allegedly owned by third party though 2009-10

Alejandro Faurlín transfer to QPR saw Instituto de Córdoba paid nothing
QPR signed Alejandro Faurlín from Instituto de Córdoba in 2009 in a deal described as 'worth £3.5m' - but the Argentinian club received no fee.

Queens Park Rangers say they broke no rules when signing the Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faurlín in July 2009, even though it has emerged that Faurlín's former club, Instituto de Córdoba, were paid nothing when Faurlín left for QPR. The club has been charged with seven breaches of Football Association rules in relation to the Faurlín signing and the renegotiation of his contract last October, the most important of which allege that Faurlín continued to be owned by a third party for the whole of the 2009-10 season.

Third-party ownership of players was banned by the Premier League and FA after the Carlos Tevez affair and QPR have become the first club to be charged with breaching that prohibition. If the charges are proved, then QPR, clear leaders of the Championship, are considered almost certain to be docked points which could cost them promotion.

QPR still describe Faurlín's signing on their own website as a "three-year deal worth £3.5m". However, sources in Argentina have confirmed that Instituto, who play in Argentina's second division, did not receive a penny when Faurlín left for QPR.

There is, though, some confusion about the significance of that. QPR's description of the deal as "worth" £3.5m does not, said sources close to the club's case, mean they ever stated they paid £3.5m to Instituto. QPR are refusing to comment on the details beyond their statement that they will be "denying all the charges," so nobody at the club will explain publicly what they mean by saying the deal was "worth" £3.5m.

However, sources close to the club's case claim it did not mean they paid Instituto the £3.5m, so they argue it is not damning that Instituto did not receive any money. All payments by English clubs when buying overseas-based players have to go through the FA as a clearing house, so the FA has known since July 2009 that no payment was made to Instituto, despite QPR's description that the deal was "worth" £3.5m.

The club is expected to argue that in fact Faurlín had come to the end of his contract with Instituto and was therefore "on a Bosman", available on a free transfer. In the club's annual report and accounts for the year to 31 May 2010, Ishan Saksena, the chairman of QPR Holdings, which owns the club, described the arrival of Faurlín and Adel Taarabt, then on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, as QPR's "most notable" signings. However, no fee was ascribed to the signing of either player.

QPR will argue to the independent commission, which the FA is to convene, that they signed Faurlín on a free transfer and he was not owned by a third party. It is understood the FA alleges the registration of Faurlín, who has excelled in the Championship, was in fact owned by an Argentinian company.

As West Ham were not even charged with third-party ownership because the rule was not in place when Tevez was signed in 2006, but were still fined £5.5m over irregularities, QPR are expected to face huge penalties if the FA's charges are proved.

It is thought that the other three charges, relating to use of an "unauthorised agent" and that QPR and its chairman, Gianni Paladini, submitted false documentation when renegotiating Faurlín's contract in October, are not as significant. The agent involved is now known to have been Peppino Tirri, well known in Italy. He does hold an official Fifa agent's licence, but it is understood the FA is alleging he was not also registered here, as the FA requires. Being "unauthorised" in that way is not as serious for a club as dealing with an agent who holds no licence.