Buck wants to stimulate debate on the transfer system

Chelsea's fine for making an illegal approach to Arsenal's Ashley Cole has sparked a debate on 'tapping-up' rules.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said he thought they could be "tweaked".

"The one area I can think of is whether in the last year of a contract a player should be able to talk to other clubs without the permission of his club."

Under world governing body Fifa's regulations, if a player is out of contract at the end of the season he can talk to overseas clubs from 1 January.

But Premier League rules prevent players from holding similar talks within England until the third Saturday of May.

The rule changes suggested by Buck would not have spared Chelsea from punishment over the Cole affair as the England left-back is contracted to Arsenal until 2007.

Some people have said Chelsea are arrogant and don't care about the rules, but we reject that entirely Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck

The subject was not on the agenda for the two-day meeting of Premier League chairmen in Leicestershire.

But Buck admitted it would be hard to avoid the topic.

"We'll be in conversations with other clubs about the tapping-up rules, as we have been in recent weeks. Let's see how that comes out," he said.

Despite the guilty verdict in the Cole affair, Buck insisted Chelsea did respect the rules.

"What I do accept is that if we were redoing the year, there are things we might have done differently but it's always easy to say that in retrospect," he said.

"By and large, I think we have tried to act properly at all times.

"Some people have said Chelsea are arrogant and don't care about the rules, but we reject that entirely.