LIVERPOOL, Arsenal and Manchester United have earned themselves the scrutiny of a new Fifa task force after G14, the elite lobbying group to which the three English clubs belong, joined a Belgian lawsuit filed against world football’s governing body. The task force, whose creation is expected to be ratified at Fifa’s annual congress in Marrakesh today, will investigate problems arising in the game including multi-ownership of clubs, the role of agents, corruption and illegal betting.

It will also monitor the activity of breakaway groups such as G14, which has angered Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, with its backing of Charleroi, a Belgian club who have taken a case to court regarding Abdelmajid Oulmers. The Morocco player was out for eight months after tearing ankle ligaments during a friendly against Burkina Faso last November.

In the case that opened last week, Charleroi claim that Fifa’s player regulations governing international duty, which force clubs to release players to their national associations without payment or compensation for injury, are illegal. Charleroi paid for Oulmers’s surgery and his salary, even though he was unable to play and has tried to reclaim some of the cost from Fifa.

Blatter said that the Belgian FA should sanction Charleroi for its recourse to a civil court rather than the football authorities. “What they’re claiming is that Fifa does not respect European law,” he said. “My question is, should 25 countries make the law for 207 national associations in the world?”

TIM LAMB, former chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, had threatened to scale the walls of the Oval for the climax of the Ashes series if he could not secure legitimate entry.

Tickets for the final day’s play are like gold dust, but the man who introduced central contracts for England players, the key to unlocking a competitive performance against Australia, might have expected an invitation to watch his reforms reap rewards. A prod in the ribs of Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, has meant that Lamb and his wife can walk through the gate today as ticket-holders.

E-MAIL: theinsider@thetimes.co.uk