The Svilar Case: Ex-Benfica Star Without a Nation in Legal Battle with FIFA

Mile Svilar, one of Europe's most in-form goalkeepers, finds himself in a bureaucratic stalemate preventing him from representing a national team. The case, involving Serbia and Belgium, is already being handled by lawyers and could potentially end up in court.

While his teammates depart for international duty, the Roma goalkeeper, formerly of Benfica, remains in Trigoria – a situation that even surprises club officials. With an impressive 78.9% save percentage in Serie A, surpassing any other goalkeeper in the league, and 88 total saves, his absence from national call-ups is conspicuous. The truth is, Svilar is in limbo, without a footballing nation, and a team of lawyers is fighting to find a solution.

The problem stems from the 45 minutes Svilar played for Serbia in a friendly match against Qatar on September 1, 2021, when he replaced Rajković. Born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium, Svilar completed his entire youth development within Belgian national teams, from the lower ranks to the U21s, having passed through the academies of Beerschot, GBA, and Anderlecht.

The decision to represent Serbia was influenced by his father, Ratko, a former goalkeeper with nine caps for Yugoslavia. As his father was Serbian, he passed on the nationality to his son. However, Svilar later reportedly felt the desire to represent his country of birth, Belgium, but FIFA regulations currently prevent this. This situation has led to Serbia rejecting him and Belgium eagerly awaiting the possibility of calling him up.

FIFA's rules on changing national representation were amended in 2020, making the process more flexible. For a player to switch national teams, several criteria must be met: possessing the nationality of the country they wish to represent at the time they played for the first national team (Svilar met this); not having played more than three matches for the first national team (met); none of those matches being in the final stages of World Cups or continental championships (met); and at least three years having passed since the last international cap (met).

The crucial obstacle, however, is age. The regulation prevents a change for players who were over 21 years old in their last match. On September 1, 2021, Svilar had turned 22 just four days prior. Because of this detail, he is currently barred from representing Belgium.

For months, a group of lawyers has been trying to get FIFA to grant an exception for this case, arguing that the player meets all requirements except for a margin of just 96 hours. With the World Cup approaching, and despite Belgian coach Garcia relying on Courtois for the goal, the Svilar case continues to generate debate and promises to set a precedent, whatever the outcome.