Bradford City chairman Geoffrey Richmond believes football's 'Doomsday' scenario will be avoided.

The Bantams chief is convinced commonsense will prevail in the rumbling row over the game's transfer system.

World and European soccer officials met in Zurich yesterday to hammer out plans to put before Brussels at the end of the month.

The European Commission see the present transfer practice as restrictive and an infringement of workers' rights. And unless there are radical changes made, they have threatened to outlaw the transfer rules altogether.

EU competition commissioner Mario Monti, who set an October 31 deadline for football's authorities, wants to lift restrictions on players' contracts, allowing them to move on after giving notice just as in other jobs.

That could throw football into chaos - but Richmond is confident a compromise can be reached.

He said: "It's a very confused situation that Brussels has created and if transfers were abolished and players could walk out at short notice it would create anarchy within the game.

"The present system may not be perfect but all the interested parties in the debate, the clubs, players and supporters, all feel very strongly that it is infinitely better than the alternative.

"And from what I understand there has been progress with Brussels. I think the Doomsday scenario is now very unlikely to happen."

UEFA's executive meeting this week put forward their six-point solution which included the need for two unified transfer periods within the calendar and a transition period to adjust to any new system.

They have also called for the creation of a minimum and maximum length of contract.

Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor said: "The political pressure applied by the various national governments seems to have led to a softening of the EC stance."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has suggested a three-point plan. He wants transfers for under-18s outlawed, a compensation system for players who leave clubs before they are 24 and the abolition of transfer fees for over-24s.

But it remains to be seen how compensation would be agreed and Blatter's ideas are unlikely to be popular with clubs.

A meeting of Europe's biggest clubs, the G-14 group, has shown resistance to change remains strong.

Europe's big guns insist that existing contracts be honoured and that the option of signing a five-year deal should still be available to players.