Hamburger SV Won’t Let Kompany Play In The Olympics

The country vs. club battle continues in football. Hamburger SV won’t let Belgium’s Vincent Kompany play in the Olympics. Their sporting director said:
“We have discussed the situation with Vincent and we mutually decided that the best thing for him is to practice with Hamburger.”

The Belgium FA had this rebuttle:
“We sent a fax to Hamburg calling them to obey the regulations. Currently, we still haven’t received a response back.”

Hamburger SV can’t keep Kompany from an international selection. FIFA does not condone that behavior at all:
“The freeing of under 23 players is still obligatory for all clubs. For the 2008 Pekin Olympic Games the same principle applies.”
-Sepp Blatter

What Hamburger is doing is wrong. Like I said before, club vs. country has always been a heated topic. Club’s spend a lot of money for players and they hate to see them leave for international duty. Fears of injury and fatigue weigh on clubs’ minds. Belgium Olympic football coach Jean-François de Sart will release his selection for the tournament tomorrow.