Fernando Llorente is a success story of the Basque-only rule (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Earlier this month Barcelona wrapped up the Spanish Primera Division title – leaving Jose Mourinho and his Real Madrid side to reflect on what might have been.

Whilst this season has seen several records broken (Lionel Messi beating Gerd Muller’s record of 85 goals in a calendar year being a highlight), one less well-known but equally impressive record still stands. Of the 10 clubs who took part in the first Primera Division in 1929, three have never been relegated from the Spanish top flight – Barcelona and Real Madrid are the obvious two, but also Athletic Bilbao from the northern Basque region of Spain.



Since 1912, Athletic Bilbao has followed a strict unwritten rule of only fielding Basque players, although recently the rule has become more flexible with a few non-Basque players playing for Los Leones (The Lions).

The rule is something of an anachronism in the modern era, where top European clubs are commonly the ultimate international melting pots. Yet even with this self-imposed restriction, Athletic Bilbao have managed to defy the odds and remain competitive in what is one of the best leagues in the world.


Whilst Athletic Bilbao’s football achievements speak for themselves, their Basque-only rule continues to be controversial.

Those in favour of the rule argue that it promotes the culture and traditions of the fiercely patriotic Basque region – but critics question whether the restriction contravenes freedom of movement laws.

I recently discussed what the position might be if a club in the UK tried to adopt a similar approach to that of Athletic Bilbao with one of my colleagues – immigration law specialist Angus Harrison.

On the face of it, refusing to recruit foreign workers (or even those from another part of the same country) would seem to fall foul of several regulations, none more so than the Equality Act 2010.

It would seem that the tradition and history of football has managed to trump the letter of the law

Under this Act, race, nationality and ethnic origin are all protected characteristics and an employer cannot simply prefer one person over another because of such characteristics.

In recent years there have been calls in the UK for a new rule to be passed which would set a minimum number of ‘home-grown’ players which each club would have to field in their starting line-ups – the ultimate aim being to improve the overall standard of national sides by having more players playing regular, competitive football.

Although the football authorities (including Fifa) have considered introducing such a rule, their conclusion has been that it would be incompatible with European freedom of movement laws.

Perhaps the most curious aspect of Athletic Bilbao’s ‘home-grown’ rule is that it has never been truly challenged.

As Spain has ratified Protocol 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights (forbidding discrimination by any public bodies), Athletic Bilbao remain vulnerable to a challenge in Strasbourg.

However, as their rule becomes more and more relaxed, it seems less likely that a serious legal challenge will ever be made.

On this occasion, it would seem that the tradition and history of football has managed to trump the letter of the law.