This year’s USL Championship Final is expected to take place during the November international window. Here’s what we know about how the international window may impact on the playoffs. This article will be updated if any feedback is received from USL and national football associations.

When is the USL Championship Final going to take place?

The USL Championship Playoff Final is expected to take place at some point between November 14-18. These dates were first reported by ProSoccerUSA last December, and confirmed in a USL press release at the start of August.

When, and what, is the international window?

The November international window will be held between November 11-19, as designated by FIFA. The international window is when national team fixtures, including CONCACAF Nations League and Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers, take place. Each national team may play up to two fixtures. As an example, Jamaica – a nation well-represented in USL – will play on November 15 and 18.

How much could this impact USL?

In short, quite a bit. As the quality of USL has improved, so too has the number of players representing their country. There are a total of 63 players currently registered in the Western Conference alone who have been called up to represent their country in some capacity over the last 12 months. Of those, 33 were at full senior international level, and the rest at youth level.

Only two teams are completely untouched: Austin Bold and New Mexico United. The worst-hit team is likely to be Oklahoma City Energy, with eight players featuring in senior international squads during the past year. During this year’s Gold Cup, Energy failed to name a full substitutes bench in any of their matches.

Here is the full breakdown of recent internationals – including youth internationals – by Western Conference team:

If my team gets to the final, can it just refuse to let its players go?

Nope. The rules around international call ups are set out in FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. Here’s what the regulations state:

“Clubs are obliged to release their registered players to the representative teams of the country for which the player is eligible to play on the basis of his nationality if they are called up by the association concerned. Any agreement between a player and a club to the contrary is prohibited.”

-Article 1, Paragraph 1, Annexe 1

But the player can refuse to play, right?

That isn’t clear. The former UEFA President Michel Platini said in 2015 that participation in national teams is the coach’s decision rather than the players, and threatened Franck Ribery with a suspension if he didn’t comply with a call up.

Again, FIFA’s regulations give some insight into this topic:

“As a general rule, every player registered with a club is obliged to respond affirmatively when called up by the association he is eligible to represent on the basis of his nationality to play for one of its representative teams.”

-Article 3, Paragraph 1, Annexe 1

What’s interesting here is the use of “as a general rule.” That implies there are exceptions, but FIFA doesn’t currently spell out any exceptions except for injury (we’ll get to that later).

Historically, FIFA has provided additional commentary on the Regulations. This is how it said a player could refuse a call up:

“Once a player has been called up to play for his national team, he basically has to comply with this summons. Should he wish not to be called up for a certain match or matches or for a certain period of time, he must inform the association of which he is a national, in writing, of his intention before being called up. Furthermore, only the player himself is entitled to renounce representing his national team. This declaration shall be submitted by the player to the association concerned in writing.”

-Commentary on the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (2006)

Is this provision still in effect?  That’s not clear; but if it is, it would allow players to choose not to participate in matches. The only drawback? Players must make their decision prior to the call up, which formally happens 15 days before a match.  That is, long before they’d know if their team had made it to the USL final.

Let’s say, hypothetically, that our player wasn’t fit. Then, hypothetically, he’d get out of international duty, right? (*winks in the direction of Sir Alex Ferguson*)

Funnily enough, injuries aren’t a watertight get-out clause either. FIFA’s Regulations allow national associations to compel such players to undergo an examination by the association’s medical staff. If they find out that the player is faking, they could refer the incident to a disciplinary panel, and sanctions may be imposed.

So what! What can they even do to us if we don’t comply?

Well, for a start, players can be ruled ineligible to play for the length of the window plus a further five days, as outlined in the Regulations:

“A player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is, unless otherwise agreed by the relevant association, not entitled to play for the club with which he is registered during the period for which he has been released or should have been released pursuant to the provisions of this annexe, plus an additional period of five days.”

-Article 5, Annexe 1 (Emphasis my own)

The relevant national association could also refer both player and club to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which can impose a variety of sanctions as listed in the Disciplinary Code. The most likely outcome from that is probably a fine.  However, it could also include reversing the outcome of matches.

But players miss internationals all the time, and nothing ever happens!

That’s not entirely wrong. Most of the time, national associations make no attempt to impose sanctions on players who don’t want to participate. It’s left to the discretion of the national association to force the issue, and they rarely want to.

However, that doesn’t mean they never do, and associations have picked fights with clubs far bigger than those of USL. In 2015, West Ham was fined 100,000CHF ($101,500) after playing Diafra Sakho in a match despite him claiming injury when called up by Senegal. FIFA didn’t reverse the result of that match, although it had the power to do so, and Sakho was left out of subsequent games as a precaution according to Sam Allardyce.

Just two years later, Liverpool benched Joel Matip after he was included in a provisional squad by Cameroon. Matip considered himself to be retired from international football, but Jurgen Klopp left the defender out of his team while legal advice was sought.

OK, but surely a national association wouldn’t stand in the way of their players taking part in a final?

International games are hardly meaningless either. The November window features the final round of CONCACAF Nations League matches, which serve as the qualification process for the 2021 Gold Cup. If qualification is still on the line in the final game, who knows what a national association will do.

So how do we minimize the damage?

It may be too late for this year, but the simplest solution is for USL to not schedule important matches during international windows. This year’s MLS Cup final is taking place the weekend before for that very reason.  USL should act likewise in future years.

Several parties, including USL and national associations, have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated as they reply.