Hatem Ben Arfa will be forced to kick his heels in Nice until the summer after the former Newcastle United and Hull City creator was refused international clearance to play for the Ligue 1 side this season.
Ben Arfa, who joined Nice as a free agent on an 18-month contract after Newcastle terminated his contract this month, will not be able to play in formal matches after the French League ruled on Friday that he had appeared in competitive games for two teams this season.
Fifa regulations state that “players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs.”
Nice had contested this ruling because, although Ben Arfa played eight Premier League games for Hull during a loan stint at the KC Stadium, he did not feature for Newcastle’s first team.
He did, however, play in one game for Newcastle’s reserves, otherwise known as the under-21s or “development” side and, although Fifa regarded this as a competitive fixture, Nice felt it was an overly rigid interpretation.
After considerable debate the French Football League convened to make a final decision on the matter on Friday and decreed that, as the game for Peter Beardsley’s St James’ Park second stringers was part of an “under-21 professional development league”, it had to be considered as “official”.
“In application of this decision … the LFP has no other choice but to ban Hatem Ben Arfa from playing official matches with Nice until the end of the season,” the League said in a statement, before confirming that Ben Arfa remains free to train with Nice and play in friendlies.
It represents a considerable blow for the 27-year-old former France international once described as a genuis by Gérard Houllier but whose career has spiralled downwards after fallouts with Alan Pardew at Newcastle and Steve Bruce at Hull.
