Lawyer on red alert to exert influence in transfers of power

Maurice Watkins looked at home, having commandeered the office of the FA Premier League chairman to talk to the Gazette.It would be exaggerating wildly to say that the senior partner of Manchester firm James Chapman & Co has designs on a full-time occupancy of the room, but such is his eminence as a football lawyer, it would not be a total surprise were he one day to achieve it nonetheless.It would be fitting for the man synonymous, at least in legal circles, with his client, the all-conquering Manchester United.Mr Watkins, who is 60, started to work for United in 1976, when James Chapman's senior partner, who had previously acted for the club, died suddenly.At that time, there was not much to do at the club, except for some property work and a few managerial sackings.

One of his first jobs was dealing with Tommy Docherty's infamous departure.

Since then, as he says, 'things have changed unbelievably'.He joined the board in 1984, on the same day as Sir Bobby Charlton, and since then has handled a string of record-breaking transfers - such as Juan Sebastian Veron's British record 28.1 million move from Lazio - defended Eric Cantona after his feet-first foray into the crowd, and more recently been in the forefront of the English game's work: first on the Bosman case and then on the transfer system, which has evolved after European Commission intervention.In 2000 he joined the legal experts board of UEFA, European football's governing body, and was most recently named one of five European representatives on the newly created FIFA dispute resolution chamber, which adjudicates on issues arising from the transfer system.

Appeals from that will go to a new arbitration tribunal for football.In a nutshell, Mr Watkins explains, 'subject to certain sport-specific rules, footballers will henceforth be treated as any other work in employment terms; in addition, the Bosman rules [of free movement at the end of a contract] are being applied world-wide'.

But, says Mr Watkins, there are complex rules to deal with compensation of the clubs which trained transferring players.

He anticipates that the chamber and tribunal will have to lay down jurisprudence on the regulations quickly so that any wrinkles in the wording are ironed out.'We'll just have to see how they bed down to decide whether they will work for the good,' he says.This close-up exposure to the transfer regulations will clearly benefit United.

At the time of speaking, Mr Watkins was waiting for a telephone call from Old Trafford over the transfer of Uruguayan Diego Forlan from Argentinian club Independiente, which was eventually sealed last week.Using Forlan as an illustration, Mr Watkins says the new regulations mean that, as the player was under 23, he would have to deal with the assessment of the training compensation for Independiente, as well as tricky 'solidarity payments', which require the buying club to ensure that 5% of the transfer fee is shared between all the clubs which contributed to his training.There are eligibility concerns: Forlan has dual nationality and a Spanish passport, which would require careful checking; were he to be a non-EU national, he would not be eligible for a work permit as he has not played for the Uruguayan national team.

However, FIFA rules prevent clubs from making transfers subject to a successful work permit application, or even a successful medical.There are also agents to contend with, as well as domestic transfer regulations proscribed separately by the Football Association and Premier League.

Add to that the problems after the collapse of the Argentinian peso, and it is easy to see how complex a transfer is nowadays.So, will his knowledge of the rules bring clubs flocking to James Chapman's door, seeking his advice? Mr Watkins, who has risen so far at least in part because of his tact, will not speculate beyond saying that 'if you get known in a certain area, people ask for your help.

It's just a natural result of what you do'.But the fact that he is United's solicitor has not stopped clubs such as Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and Bolton using his services.

He has also defended the Swansea City mascot on an FA misconduct charge.

Cyril the Swan's record includes drop-kicking the Millwall mascot's head into the crowd.Mr Watkins says that while United has been 'hugely important' to his work, he also receives instructions - particularly on regulatory issues - from other footballing sources and through his membership of the Premier League legal working party.While cautious in his pronouncements, Mr Watkins argues that clubs should revamp the way they pay top players to take account of the rapid pace of change in the game.'Clubs should consider being more creative in their salary packages, and differentiate between the stars and the journeymen,' he says.

'They could introduce a tiered approach to salary payments, combined with genuine loyalty payments and success fees.

In addition, listed clubs could consider offering share options to players.'The football world is a small one, and for all the work Mr Watkins does for the governing bodies, he also finds himself up against them.

This season, he acted for Israeli team Maccabi Haifa, thrown out of the Champions League qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player.

But when he turned up at UEFA to argue the case - unsuccessfully, as it turned out - there were no murmurs of discontent.

Indeed, he used the opportunity for some unrelated meetings.But this dispute shows the problems uniquely associated with being United's solicitor.

As a result of Haifa's disqualification, a weaker Finnish team went through to play Liverpool in the final qualifying round, and Liverpool fans accused Mr Watkins of taking the case on to give them a harder game.But he is more a work obsessive than a football obsessive; commitments have meant that he has been unable to go to an away game in Europe for two years.

He explains: 'I like football but I don't go crazy.

If we lose, I can still sleep at night providing its not a premiership decider.'