Robin van Persie lies injured while playing for Holland. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters
Arsenal intend to sue the Dutch Football Federation, the KNVB, for compensation over the injury suffered by Robin van Persie while he was on international duty – and the case could transform the face of international football. The Holland striker will miss most of the remainder of this season, having damaged ankle ligaments during a friendly against Italy last month, though he is expected to be fit for the World Cup.
Arsène Wenger believes clubs are treated disdainfully by international federations, as they are often left to pay hefty wage bills when their employees are put out of action representing their country. "We are working on this with our lawyers at the moment and we are definitely going for it," he said. "I expect financial compensation for the damage it can make to the championship and the salary involved. It is especially frustrating to lose your players for the rest of the season in a friendly game. The question has to be raised."
Wenger was less than impressed by the treatment Van Persie received with Holland, and claims the injury was misdiagnosed. "Initially, the Dutch FA said it was a small problem and Robin called me to see if he could go and see this Serbian wonder doctor and it was OK. It was only when he came back here that we realised there was much more damage. In Holland they have a fight between the national doctor and the guy that did the surgery on Robin. We just want to go for it because there are a lot of things that have not been done properly after he was injured."
Wenger wants to force the issue to draw attention to a wider problem. The Arsenal manager wants an overhaul in the balance of power which he believes favours international federations over the clubs. "I am not against the national teams. But at the moment we sit here and they can do what they want," he said. "The players are paid by their clubs and get injured playing for another team. I am happy if England wins, but if we lose because England wins nobody cares about me. There is something completely wrong with the system. I want the power to be rebalanced more in favour of the clubs. "
The issue of compensation has been raised before, notably in a long-running case between Sporting Charleroi and Fifa, in which the Belgian club, backed by Europe's top club sides in the form of the now-defunct G14, sought compensation from the world governing body for an injury sustained by Abdelmajid Oulmers while he was playing for Morocco in a friendly against Burkina Faso in November 2004.
The case was discontinued in early 2008 when the European Club Association superseded the G-14. Under an agreement with Uefa and Fifa, clubs were to be handsomely compensated for players taking part in the finals of the European Championship and World Cup. But there is no compensation for players who take part in qualifiers, friendlies or continental championships outside Europe. This is what could change if Arsenal are successful, though poorer federations might then not call up their best players for fear of having to pay huge sums in compensation in the event of injury.
The repercussions in England would probably be less serious as the FA is one of the few federations who take out insurance on their players getting injured – they paid several million pounds to Newcastle after Michael Owen damaged his cruciate playing for England at the 2006 World Cup. The premiums, though, are enormous.
"In less rich countries Fifa has to come in," Wenger said. "If you look at a player like Emmanuel Adebayor getting injured and the wages he is on at Manchester City, you could not expect the Togo FA to pay his wages. That is when it becomes difficult. Still, Fifa and Uefa have the funds to compensate clubs even if the smaller countries cannot afford it."
Wenger also wants the banning of friendlies during the season, and the rescheduling of matchdays during international breaks to Friday-Tuesday instead of the traditional Saturday-Wednesday. "When you go to Sunderland and your players have just come back on Thursday night or Friday morning how can you prepare properly? It is impossible," he said.