Sebastián Simonet’s strong claim to the International Handball Federation for the benefit of those who want to play again in Argentina

As the Argentine handball team prepares for its final match in the Main Round of the World Cup in Poland and Sweden, a player who marked an era in the national team as Sebastian Simonet He exposed the abyss that still separates the structure of this sport in the country from that which exists in the European powers based on a reflection on the economic cost that the return from Old World if you intend to continue playing.

The eldest of the Simonet brothers (his brothers Diego and Pablo are members of the team that is playing the World Cup) posted a chain of messages on his Twitter account in which he said that a player who, after working as a professional and finished his last contractual relationship, he wishes to return to play in a country where handball is amateur, such as Argentina, for this he has to pay 3,000 Swiss francs (“$1,220,625, i.e. 18.7 minimum wage in our country”, he equated).

In fact, the Interfederal Transfer Regulations, the last update of which was published by the International Handball Federation (IHF) on 18 March 2022, establishes that in the event of a player transferring between clubs of different national federations, the host club or federation of that country must pay a transfer fee of 3,000 Swiss francs: 1,500 for the transferring club’s association and 1,500 for the IHF. Since almost no Argentine club is able to pay this amount, the payment generally falls into the player’s pocket.

“It’s ridiculous, a complete ignorance of the situation and I think it’s quite easy to fix,” said Simonet, who has drafted a proposal: “The IHF seeks for an amateur team not to sign a pro (professional) for a certain tournament and then they go again, after weeks or months (something logical). It would be nice to go from 3,000 Swiss francs to 300 and if that same player then wants to return to a professional or semi-professional club within two years, he has to pay 3,000 Swiss francs.”

The figure of 300 Swiss francs proposed by Simonet is not accidental, since the same Regulations for Transfers between Federations establishes this amount as a transfer fee in the event that a player transfers from one club in an amateur league to another of the same condition. country (150 Swiss francs for the donor federation and 150 for the IHF).

“Most of them will prefer to continue playing in a professional league all their life or live in Europe due to their level, quality of life, experiences, languages. But there are also moments of return, injuries and particular circumstances, and this would practically lead you to stop playing,” added the former Argentine national team player. And he also proposed a middle ground: “You give different scales to different countries depending on what their leagues are like.Not just (distinguish) between amateur and pro.

Simonet speaks of this subject from experience, since she faced that payment when she decided to return to the countryside. After fifteen years in Europe, in which he played for Juventud Deportiva Arrate, Club Balonmano Torrevieja, Ademar León (all three Spanish) and US Ivry (France), in 2019 he turned to play first in Alta Gracia Handball and then in the German Gymnastics Society of Villa Ballester, the company from which he had left for the Old World at the age of 17 and in which his brothers also trained.

In addition to his outstanding career in Europe, Simonet had a long and successful spell with the Argentina national team, making his debut for him in 2005 and appearing in seven World Cups and three Olympics, among other events. The Tokyo 2020 Games were his last competition with the Albiceleste shirt, with which he played 195 games and scored 412 goals.