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D.C. United and Orlando City S.C. may be more than just mammals but they sure are doing what most mammals do when it comes to the Discovery claim process of Antonio Nocerino. After a day of feathers being ruffled, claims being made, and papa MLS coming down and attempting to create order there is still yet to be any resolution as to where Nocerino will end up.
For weeks D.C. United have been courting Antonio Nocerino with General Manager Dave Kasper heading over to Italy to meet with Nocerino’s representatives last week. According to the Washington Post’s Steve Goff it did not appear that he would be coming to the United States but that talks were still ongoing.
Sounds like an open and shut case, right? Major League Soccer in January is littered with rumors and gossip that suddenly fall apart. These sort of situations occur all of the time and the league and most supporters are used to them.
Not so fast! As any Major League Soccer supporter knows there is a third piece to any MLS deal or non-deal: byzantine league rules and a suppression of the free market. In this case that would be meddling (i.e. negotiating) at the hands of Orlando City. That would be the case in the instance when it was reported by The Orlando Sentinel that Orlando City SC were pursuing Nocerino as well. There is just one small problem: D.C. United has a discovery claim on Nocerino which means that no other team can directly negotiate with him. Cue the Cake music.
For those who are unaware of the discover claim process, it is a mechanism put in place by the league to maintain spending within their single entity structure. Teams can submit up to ten names per season that they would like to put a claim on but can only sign six. What happens to those other four names is unknown. When two teams file a discovery claim it is the team that files first that wins exclusive negotiating rights. In other words, teams better make sure that their wireless connection is working and that their courier pigeon is well-rested.
In this type of system a player’s ability to negotiate are limited because they can only negotiate with one team in the league. Although it sounds like a deal that negatively impact teams it is actually to their benefit as they do not have to engage in a bidding war with teams from their own league. They can also use the claim as an asset and sell or trade it to other teams in exchange for players or allocation money.
As of this moment United has not filed tampering charges although according to Goff’s report they were not too enthused about the situation. MLS has ordered Orlando to stop pursuing Nocerino although United could in turn sell their claim for the Italian international for TAM money.
It should be noted a similar situation came about last year with Didier Drogba, the Chicago Fire, and the Montreal Impact. The Fire had claim to Drogba’s rights in MLS but Impact management spoke out about their interest. No tampering charges were filed.
So if D.C. United had the claim on Nocerino why did Orlando start negotiating with the player? Orlando has claimed that they did not know of the claim which sounds far-fetched. Keep in mind though that the club has not had the best of luck this off-season with retaining general managers so it is quite possible that this rule might have caught them off-guard (just trying to be nice).
Despite Orlando’s advances, it appears that United wants to go the distance with Nocerino. After all this is a club that is not exactly known for their speed and with Fabian Espindola all alone, Nocerino may provide that for United in their time of need. He has been racing and pacing and dotting the course of Serie A for the past twelve years making appearances for the likes of Palermo, Parma, Genoa, AC Milan, and Juventus. Not exactly with monster truck force but close enough.
Whether or not Nocerino signs with D.C. United, Orlando City SC, or another club is still up in the air. What is for certain is that the discovery process is a system that still causes confusion and chaos for both supporters and league officials. Perhaps both will get what they want: a system short on rules and a looong list of interested players.
