Court ruling causes an earthquake in the football world

While the world association FIFA sees its statutes essentially confirmed, critics of the regulations see far-reaching changes coming. Who is right?

What does the ECJ ruling say? The European Court of Justice ruled that "some FIFA regulations on international transfers of professional footballers" violate EU law. Specifically, this concerns the case when a player terminates his employment contract prematurely "without good reason" - this is what Diarra was accused of by his former club Lokomotiv Moscow. According to FIFA rules, a fine is then due, and a ban is also possible. Diarra was supposed to pay 2014 million euros back then, in 10,5. A crucial point: the club that wants to sign the player is currently also liable for the fine.

Lassan Diarra got the ball rolling. © APA/afp / BERTRAND GUAY

According to the ECJ, these regulations go too far. Specifically: "These provisions burden these players and the clubs that wish to employ them with significant legal, unforeseeable and potentially very large financial and significant sporting risks." This is incompatible with the player's right to freedom of movement as a worker or with competition law, as the court ruled according to a press release.

"It's not about the player no longer being able to be sanctioned, but about the liability of the new club," Paul Lambertz, a lawyer and specialist in sports law, told the German Press Agency. One possible consequence: FIFA will have to change the paragraph in its statutes according to which the new club is also held liable.

What do those involved say? Diarra and his lawyers had set the case in motion and sued FIFA and the Belgian Football Association for damages and loss of earnings amounting to six million euros. His move to Sporting Charleroi in Belgium did not happen after the falling out in Moscow. The case has been occupying world football for years. Diarra moved to Moscow in 2013, and the break came a year later.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. © APA / LUKE HALES

According to a press release, the former national player's lawyers celebrated a "great victory". The law firm "Dupont - Hissel" was once the main party involved when a ruling in the Jean-Marc Bosman case overturned the transfer fee after the contract expired. The players' union Fifpro, which also stood up for Diarra, announced that the ECJ had made an "important ruling on the regulation of the job market in football that will change the landscape of professional football".

FIFA, however, wrote that it was "convinced that the legality of the most important principles of the transfer system has been confirmed again by today's ruling." Only two paragraphs of two articles of the FIFA regulations were called into question. The ruling would now be analyzed. A total of 102 articles are listed in the 29-page FIFA transfer document.

What effects does the verdict have? "I don't see Bosman 2.0. The sanctions for the player are still OK if contracts are terminated without good reason," said Lambertz. In England, the newspaper Guardian of a groundbreaking ruling. FIFA will now have to seriously ask itself how it can adapt its rules in the future, or whether it can do so at all. In the Italian Journal of Sport The ruling could spark a revolution and lead to players leaving a club regardless of the length of their contract.

The specific case involving Diarra will now be returned to the Belgian court, which had referred the matter to the ECJ. However, the ruling of the highest European court, which was not published in full on Friday, is binding.

It is unclear whether football contracts, which are fixed-term and rarely contain clauses for ordinary grounds for termination, will be fundamentally changed. The court also ruled that restrictions on the free movement of professional football players can be justified by the aim of ensuring that competitions function - because this maintains a certain level of stability in the teams of professional football clubs. In the Diarra case, however, "the provisions in question (...) appear in several respects to go beyond what is necessary to achieve that aim".

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Court ruling causes an earthquake in the football world

A "groundbreaking ruling"? A "revolution" for the transfer system, even a "Bosman 2.0"? The ruling of the highest European court in the case of former French professional Lassana Diarra has caused an enormous response in world football.

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