Fifa steps in following outcry over Melbourne friendly

Fifa has stepped into the controversy over the France's friendly in Australia next month by suggesting that both sides select only one player per club for the game at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Fifa general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen has written to the French and Australian federations in an attempt to end the row that saw some of Europe's biggest clubs calling for the match to be staged in France.

"In view of the overall situation we make the strong recommendation that the two national teams concerned should restrict themselves to convoke one national team member per club only irrespective of the player's nationality," it said.

The world governing body's "strong recommendation" follows a petition, organised by Arsenal and signed by 10 others including Manchester United, Chelsea, Leeds, Juventus, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, complaining about the match with their players having to fly halfway around the world for a non-competitive fixture.

In a move which could herald a shift in the balance of power in the endless club-versus-country rows, Fifa have urged the French and Australian federations to restrict themselves to one player from each club regardless of nationality for the game on 11 November.

If they abide by the recommendation it means Arsenal, Chelsea, Leeds and Manchester United will be able to rest at least some of their French and Australian players in the midst of a hectic series of Premiership and European games.

In response to Fifa's initiative, the Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein hoped the recommendation would be acceptable to the clubs. "Fifa have acknowledged the wisdom of our petition which was signed by 11 very powerful clubs in Europe," he said, "and they have come forward with a practical compromise which we hope will be acceptable to both the French and the Australian federations."

The 11 clubs had offered to finance a change of venue to Europe – and not necessarily France – in order to save the players being forced to endure two 24-hour flights in a matter of days.

That, however, was ruled out by Australian authorities who said plans for the prestigious game against the world champions were too far advanced for it to be played elsewhere.

There was little initial reaction from France and Australia to Fifa's recommendation, but both were thought unlikely to agree wholeheartedly with a move that would somewhat devalue the friendly.

But at the same time such a move by Fifa is virtually unprecedented and they will be wary of saying anything that will cause serious upset to the world governing body.