Responding to a petition from Madis Metsmägi, head of youth work at Estonian football club Nõmme United, the Chancellor of Justice said: "A child must have the opportunity to change sports club and coach if the child really wants to. It is unethical if parents or guardians and their child are pressured to pay a transfer fee in a situation like this. No child should suffer because of a dispute between sports clubs. Disagreements between sports clubs must not be allowed to prevent children from training and competing," the Chancellor wrote.

Metsmägi said his petition refers to the problem that young players from the age of 11 who do not have a contract are still unable to change sports clubs if their former club does not agree to the move.

"A prerequisite for changing clubs would be the payment of a fee, the amount of which depends on a child's age. Between the ages of 11 to 12 it is €900, for the next two years €1,800, then for the following two years it is €2,700. From there the fee for the next two years reaches €3,600. And these are underage players who are not under contract," Metsmägi said.

"The problem with our club – and I've also helped players from other clubs – is that a child can't go to the club or coach they want to go to. For example, a child living in Viimsi who moves to Nõmme may not get the chance to go to play for a club in Nõmme. Ideally, clubs would pay their own transfer fees, but the reality is that there are very few, really talented players that clubs are willing to pay for, and so, generally this money has to come from the parents," Metsmägi said.

"At the end of the day, it's up to the parent and the player to decide if they want to try out for a new club. After that the clubs started demanding the protection of the Estonian Football Association [as they claimed] Nõmme United take players, even though the discussion was about 15 players in different age groups. In total, Nõmme United has 250 players. There was a strong defensive circle," Metsmägi explained.

According to Metsmägi, he has also informed the Estonian Football Association (EJL) of cases in which a club refuses to communicate with a player's parents in order to propose a change of club.

"I started to fight the system when the club refused to communicate with a parent, but six months later the mother wrote to me herself to say that her child wanted to come to our club's training sessions. I then informed the player's current club and also told the mother that we had been interested in her child for six months. At that point, the mother got angry with the former club and bought out the player's rights," Metsmägi said.

Eventually, it was Metsmägi who informed the clubs involved and contacted the parent when his club, Nõmme United, was interested in a player.

"At the end of the day, it's up to the parent and the player to decide if they want to try out for a new club. After that the clubs started demanding the protection of the Estonian Football Association [as they claimed] Nõmme United take players, even though the discussion was about 15 players in different age groups. In total, Nõmme United has 250 players. There was a strong defensive circle," Metsmägi explained.

Estonian rules stricter than international norm

According to Metsmägi, it is important to note that world football governing body FIFA's international transfer rules do not apply to players under the age of 16. If a player goes abroad to play and does not sign a professional contract, no compensation is paid to their previous club.

"However, if a player moves from one club in Tartu to another, their parent has to pay €3,600. The Estonian rules are stricter than the international rules," Metsmägi said.

Metsmägi conceded that there is no ideal solution but ultimately, children should be at the sports club they want to be at.

"In my opinion, the only correct thing would be for a 14-year-old child to be able to change clubs without a transfer fee because he or she has no permanent contract. The fees were introduced with the idea of protecting the clubs' investments. However, the Chancellor of Justice also said in 2017 how much these clubs are still investing even when parents pay membership fees, buy equipment and pay for trips. After that, there's the subsidy for the club's staffing costs, as well as the subsidy for the main fees, donations and grants. In Estonia, there is no club investing in a 14-year-old. We have waived membership fees for a few individual kids at our club, but that really is a major exception," Metsmägi explained.

Metsmägi: I'm not campaigning for Klavan

Elections for the new head of the Estonian Football Association are set to take place in the coming months. However, Metsmägi said his letter to the Chancellor of Justice and criticism of the association's current leadership is in no way connected to the election campaign.

"I have nothing to do with the campaign team of Ragnar Klavan (incumbent EJL President Aivar Pohlak's opponent in the elections – ed.). But I have spoken to Klavan about these issues and it is also part of his campaign that the system ought to be reviewed," Metsmägi said.

Metsmägi says that the EJL's current rules protect clubs that just let things go their own way. If a child joins their club, they can just keep them there until someone is either willing to buy them or their parent pays the transfer fee.

"A lot of people either stay with a club or change sports because they can do it for free," said Metsmägi.

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ERR has also contacted the Estonian Football Association (EJL) for comment, though at the time of writing have yet to receive a response. The EJL's comments will be added once they have been received.

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