UEFA has told Real Madrid that they will have to choose between Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra for the knock-out phase of the Champions League.
Madrid hoped to find a loophole that would allow both players to appear in the tournament, despite the fact that both already represented their previous team in the UEFA Cup this season. According to UEFA regulations, only one such player can be registered in this situation.
UEFA spokesman William Galliard left no space for negotiation though:
“The norm doesn’t offer any other meaning than the one it has and Real Madrid can only register one. To make this exception with Real Madrid would mean that we would have to keep in mind the needs of every club and the consequence would be a chain of favors. We would have to make a lot of modifications, which would result in a chance of spirit of the competition.”
Real Madrid recently signed both Ajax striker Huntelaar and Portsmouth midfielder Diarra. A Marca survey revealed that about 80% of Spanish fans would prefer for Huntelaar to be registered.