Euroscene: As European football readies itself for another week of enthralling Champions League action, a rain cloud of monsoon proportions continues to hover uneasily overhead.

We are talking about "L'Affaire Oulmers", the Belgian court case which last week saw the G14, the group which represents the world's richest clubs, sue Fifa for 860 million damages by way of compensation for injuries picked up by their players while on international duty.

This latest round in the long running club v country conflict started off in November 2004 when Morocco played Burkina Faso in a friendly international. Called up by Morocco for that game was Abdelmajid Oulmers, who plays his club football for Belgian first division side Charleroi.

Inevitably, Charleroi were reluctant to release their player and only did so after Fifa had intervened to sustain the Moroccan federation's case. Oulmers duly played for Morocco but he tore ankle ligaments and was out of football for seven months.

Without him, Charleroi missed out on the revenue-generating Champions League, finishing fifth, 15 points behind champions FC Bruges and just outside the Champions League zone.

Last September in an industrial relations tribunal in Charleroi, the club filed a lawsuit against Fifa, claiming compensation for: (a) wages paid to an injured player, (b) medical expenses and (c) for having dropped points in the league because of the player's injury.

From the start, legal experts warned that this lawsuit could go all the way to the European Court in Luxembourg where Fifa may well be adjudged in breach of European Union law.

Charleroi's case became much more than merely a Belgian problem when the G14 joined the fray. (G14 is an inappropriate name for this exclusive body currently made up of 18 clubs including such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in England, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan in Italy etc).

The G14 hired the services of lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont, the man who acted for Jean-Marc Bosman 10 years ago in another ground-breaking case and is the man who last week presented the infamous €860 million bill to Fifa:

"The calculation was simple mathematics. It is based on the number of days that the clubs were deprived of their players either through call-ups for the national teams or through injuries picked up when playing for the national teams. We then multiplied that figure by the average daily wage of G14 players", explained lawyer Dupont.

Fifa's reaction was of the familiar outraged variety with president Sepp Blatter declaiming: "What are we to make of clubs which are part of our family yet at the same time take us to court? What do they hope to gain? . . . the future of not just the national teams but also our sport is at risk."

Uefa weighed in strongly on Fifa's side, suggesting that clubs could be barred from Uefa competitions (Champions League included) if they refused to abide by the organisation's rules. In particular, Uefa point out that their statutes forbid clubs taking legal action against Uefa except through the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

While it is true that the market worth of a player is clearly enhanced by success with his national team, especially in a World Cup or European Championship, it seems only reasonable that Fifa be obliged to establish some sort of reimbursement system for international duty and, above all, for injuries sustained on that international duty.

Such compensation, plus a streamlined international calendar and a share in the billion-dollar revenues generated by World Cups and European Championships would probably satisfy the G14.

It is laudable for Uefa to claim, as they did last week, that they "will not tolerate a structure or system where the little clubs, the little associations and their supporters have no chance to realise their dreams".

This is laudable but it remains to be seen just how the European Court will assess Fifa and Uefa statutes. It might be better for everyone, big and small, Fifa and G14, not to get to that point, not to find out just what ruling the European Court might deliver.