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October 7 – It’s been described by some experts as Bosman Mark 2 and could have significant implications for years to come.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that some of FIFA’s transfer rules are contrary to EU law, potentially opening a can of worms in terms of the way professional players can move from one club to another.
The ECJ was called upon to judge a long-running dispute between former French international midfielder Lassana Diarra (pictured) and FIFA over what happens when players unilaterally terminate their contract.
In a highly anticipated verdict, judges found that by restricting a footballer’s ability to seek further employment, current FIFA rules hinder the EU’s free movement and competition between clubs.
“The Court holds that all of those rules are contrary to EU law,” it said.
The fear for clubs now is that the Diarra case will encourage more players to attempt to break their contracts and join another team without a transfer fee having to be negotiated, changing the face of the European transfer market – just as the Bosman case did in the mid-1990s.
The Bosman judgement allowed players to move to another club at the end of their contract without any monies being exchanged – but this potentially goes much further.
Diarra’s legal team, led by Jean-Louis Dupont, who also advised the then little known Jean-Marc Bosman all those years ago, successfully argued that Diarra, who played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris St Germain, was unfairly denied a transfer following a dispute a decade ago with Lokomotiv Moscow. Dupont has dubbed the case ‘the Bosman 2.0 affair’, and hailed the new ruling as “a total victory”.
A lawyer for world players’ union FIFPRO, Pieter Paepe, agreed. “The entire economic logic behind the transfer market is undermined today,” he told AFP.
In response to Friday’s verdict, FIFA said it would “analyse the decision in coordination with other stakeholders before…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/10/07/ecj-ruling-diarra-case-threatens-stability-transfer-market/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-10-07 14:01:03
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