An advisor to Europe’s highest court has stated that some of FIFA’s regulations on player transfers might violate European Union laws as they interfere with the contractual relationships between players and clubs.
Advocate General Maciej Szpunar informed the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that certain rules “are restrictive in nature and may only be justified under specific conditions.” He also noted that these rules could restrict a club’s ability to sign players and may impede competition in the transfer market.
The case was brought to the CJEU by Lassana Diarra, a former Premier League player who joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013 but had his contract terminated a year later. Diarra alleges that a potential transfer to Belgian club Charleroi fell through because they were concerned about having to pay compensation to Lokomotiv under FIFA’s rules.
Diarra argued that FIFA’s regulations, which would make a new club jointly liable with him for paying compensation to Lokomotiv, obstructed his ability to join another team. He subsequently filed a lawsuit against FIFA and the Royal Belgian Football Association in a Belgian court, seeking damages of six million euros (£5.1m).
The Belgian court has sought guidance from the CJEU, and Szpunar, along with Diarra’s lawyers, have recommended that the judges rule in favor of the player in their forthcoming decision.
“This will put an end to the degrading practice of commoditising players,” lawyers Jean-Louis Dupont and Martin Hissel said in a joint statement.