Any number crunchers out there? Does 6 5 mean anything to you? No? Well, let me tell you about the Bosman case. No, just kidding, I won't bore you with that. All I will say is that the EU ruling that followed not only protected players without contracts, it also seemed to punish home nation players. Without the Bosman ruling, most of today's top flight divisions in Europe would not be the same.

Now things are moving that are intended to circumscribe the ruling and I believe this could have been done years ago but nobody thought of it. Firstly, some simple facts on the Bosman ruling for those that have missed it. The European Union ruled 15 years ago that a player out of contract was free to move wherever he wanted. This meant that the club he was previously with could not request a transfer fee from his new club so some of this money went straight in the player's pocket as well as his agent's, who now started to spring up all over Europe.

However, this ruling meant that "wherever he wanted" also meant anywhere in the EU. Previously, for example in the English leagues, there was a 3 2 rule, which meant each club could only field three foreign players plus two foreign players that had progressed through the ranks of the team's own youth organization. The Bosman ruling put paid to that and nowhere in the European Union could the national football authority put a limit to the number of players from other EU countries a club could have.

Now, FIFA boss Sepp Blatter is putting forward the "6 5" rule that leading legal advisors say complies with EU legislation. Essentially, this rule states that every team must field at least 6 players that are eligible for the national team at the start of a match. This would not apply to substitutes or other players in the employ of the club, thereby adhering to the Bosman ruling. The new rule would give support to domestic players in each respective country according to the FIFA boss. Undoubtedly, it would make a difference and it complies with the growing beliefs among football fans around Europe.