Arsenal fans have been wondering whether Piero Hincapie would be eligible to play for Arsenal against his parent club, Bayer Leverkusen, in the Champions League.
The Gunners signed the Ecuador international from the Bundesliga side on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day last summer.
You have £45m to spend on a defender, do you pay for Piero Hincapie or sign someone else?
If a loan move takes place between two Premier League clubs, there is a rule that the player in question cannot face their parent club in a league game. That is why Reiss Nelson wasn’t involved in the matchday squad when Brentford faced Arsenal.
UEFA rules, however, are different, which means Hincapie will be allowed to face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
UEFA will allow Piero Hincapie to play for Arsenal against Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal are waiting to see who they will draw in the round of 16 in the Champions League.
The Gunners already know that it can only be one of two teams – German giants Bayer Leverkusen or Serie A side Atalanta.
Arsenal should back themselves to beat either side, but a trip to the BayArena, on paper, seems easier than facing La Dea in Bergamo.
Tell us who you want Arsenal to draw in the round of 16 and WHY
If that does happen and the North Londoners are drawn against Leverkusen, they won’t have to worry about Piero Hincapie’s availability.
Article 5.01 of the UEFA Champions League regulations states that in order to ensure the integrity of the competition, no club may exercise ‘any power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance’ of another participating club.
The governing body explicitly interprets this to mean that any clause intended to stop a loan player from playing against their parent club is ‘null, void and unenforceable’ in UEFA competitions.
There are a few famous examples of the above rule being enforced. Thibaut Courtois played against Chelsea for Atletico Madrid, while Philippe Coutinho did the same against Barcelona when he was on loan at Bayern Munich.
On both occasions, the clubs that had the player on loan ended up winning the tie, which is bad news for Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal are well within their rights to play Hincapie against his parent club if they are drawn against them, and if his recent form is anything to go by, he could make the difference for the Gunners in that game.
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