UEFA, European football's governing body, last night scrapped restrictions on foreign players appearing in their club competitions.

They announced their decision - it comes two months after the Jean-Marc Bosman judgment - after seven hours of talks at a London hotel.

But UEFA president Lennart Johansson is confident that survivors in this season's Champions' League, Cup-winners' Cup, and UEFA Cup will stick by their voluntary agreement to retain selection limits for the rest of the current campaign.

How that will be viewed by the European Commission remains to be seen, but Scotland's David Will, handed the responsibility by Johansson of announcing the rule change, stressed: ``UEFA have no intention to do anything but act within the law.''

Will said that there would be discussions later this week with FIFPRO - the European players union - to find some common ground for an alternative structure which would have domestic interests at heart and also satisfy the commission.

UEFA officials had met representatives of all clubs still involved in their three competitions at a meeting in Geneva last week - and it was views expressed there which led to their belated action.

Will said: ``You all know that last week in Geneva the remaining clubs in the UEFA competitions declared voluntarily that it was their intention not to change the rules halfway through.

``They expressed that view as a spirit of sportsmanship and fair play and it was not following pressure by UEFA.

``The executive committee recognise - as we had already recognised at the time of the judgment - that the nationality rule (the so-called three-plus-two rule) can no longer be applied at the level of domestic competitions within national associations.

``In light of these two factors the committee concluded that the rule was effectively obsolete and took the decision that it be lifted with immediate effect in European club competitions.

``That being said, we have problems for the future because the three-plus-two and transfer rules were there for the benefit of football and we have somehow to observe completely new concepts within the law.''