EU review chairman says FIFA should talk with G14

FIFA must acknowledge the G14's right to express the views of Europe's richest clubs, the man leading a review into how the game is run across the European Union said.

"The G14 is a reality and is a fact of football which must be accepted," Jose Luis Arnaut said.

"They are a stakeholder in the game and have a right to have their say." Arnaut, a former Portuguese deputy prime minister, will meet the G14 next week as part of the independent review.

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, refuses to negotiate with the grouping of 18 of Europe's richest clubs and on Monday its president Sepp Blatter threatened to go to "war" with G14.

Earlier this month, Belgian club Charleroi, backed by G14, went to court demanding compensation from FIFA after one of their players was injured playing for Morocco in 2004.

"We need to have a definition of how football should be run at all levels from the bottom to the very top," Arnaut said. "At one end it is a social model, but at the other end it is a business model and this is very difficult to work with. But we do need to have a balance."

Arnaut was in Brussels on Wednesday to chair a public hearing attended by stakeholders including UEFA, the European Professional Football Leagues and supporters' representatives.