According to ESPN Soccernet, the European Commission has "dismissed the findings" of a new FIFA-commissioned report that supported the world governing body's proposed 6+5 rule that would limit the number of foreign players in domestic leagues and "warned that pursuing the law would result in a spate of court cases."

While the controversial 6+5 rule has been roundly regarded as illegal by the European Union and a majority of individual EU governments on grounds that it would "amount to discrimination in the workplace and a restriction on the free movement of workers," it has the backing of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and 155 of FIFA's 208 member nations, and was found a fair practice by the Institute for European Affairs.

If the rule were to take effect as scheduled for the 2012-13 season, numbers show that the English Premier League would be the most affected and "lose big," according to goal.com's Alan Dawson. With 65.1 percent of its players hailing from outside England (compared to 50% in the Bundesliga and 40% in Serie A), Dawson warns that the league would need "to alter its transfer policies in the upcoming windows, or indeed take a more hands-on approach in bringing through their academy products. Read the original story...