Turkish football clubs will only be able to sign foreign players under 32 years old according to new rules

Emre Sarigul

May 30, 2020

Turkish football clubs will only be able to sign foreign players under 32 years old according to new rules — Galatasaray supporters celebrate after the football club was crowned champion of Turkey's top division for a record 22nd time on May 19, 2019 in Istanbul. - Galatasaray sealed their 22nd Turkish league title with a dramatic 2-1 win over nearest challengers Istanbul Basaksehir in a capital-city derby marred by violence. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Super Lig clubs have agreed to decrease the number of foreign players from 14 to 12 per team and outlaw the transfer of foreign players older than 32.

Hurriyet sports editor Mehmet Arslan published the Turkish Football Federation report from the meeting with Super Lig sides at the Riva headquarters in Istanbul on Thursday.

Arslan reported that according to the new rules agreed by the federation and football clubs starting from next season teams will only be able to sign 12 foreign players.

READ: Super Lig will return on June 12 after Turkish football chiefs reach agreement following coronavirus disruptions

Of those 12 players only eight will be able to play at any one time, two will be allowed on the bench and two won’t be allowed in the matchday squad.

There is uncertainty over whether the restrictions over how many foreign players can play at any one time will be enforced for the 2020-21 season or the following campaign.

The move is an attempt to give more options to domestic players but history has disproven this theory in the past.

The previous attempt at foreign player restrictions was abandoned in 2015 and the period after saw one the number of Turkish talents sky rocket with Cengiz Ünder, Çağlar Söyüncü and Merih Demiral all moving to top European clubs from the Super Lig.