Red card: Some of FIFA's international transfer rules clash with EU law, top court says – Euronews

Radio Schuman
This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
No Comment
No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary.
My Wildest Prediction
Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries
The Big Question
From entrepreneurs to world leaders and academics, we discuss what makes them tick and see the bigger picture of what’s going on in the world of business.
Euronews Tech Talks
Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society.
Water Matters
Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate – find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
Climate Now
We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.
Radio Schuman
This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
No Comment
No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary.
My Wildest Prediction
Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries
The Big Question
From entrepreneurs to world leaders and academics, we discuss what makes them tick and see the bigger picture of what’s going on in the world of business.
Euronews Tech Talks
Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society.
Water Matters
Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate – find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
Climate Now
We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.
The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its judgement of a long-running legal dispute involving a former high-profile footballer.
A set of existing FIFA rules on player transfers conflict with European Union legislation regarding competition and freedom of movement, the bloc’s top court said on Friday.
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) judgement concerns a case involving former France international Lassana Diarra, who legally challenged FIFA rules following a dispute with Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow dating back a decade ago.
Diarra argued that FIFA’s restrictions meant he was unable to find a new club once his four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow was terminated in 2013 after Diarra was unhappy with what he alleged were pay cuts.
Under FIFA rules, if a player terminates his contract without “just cause,” the player and any club wishing to sign him would potentially be jointly liable for paying compensation to, in this case, Lokomotiv Moscow.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport found the Russian club terminated the contract with Diarra “with just cause”, with Diarra ordered to pay €10.5 million.
Diarra argued his search for a new club was hampered by FIFA rules and sued the association along with the Belgian federation for damages, citing a deal with Belgian club Charleroi which fell through.
The ECJ, who took on the case after it went through Belgian courts, concluded that in Diarra’s case FIFA transfer regulations seemed to “go beyond what is necessary to pursue the objective.”
The ECJ slammed FIFA’s rulings, arguing they restricted and prevented cross-border competition between European clubs, concluding that the rules “place a general restriction” on competition by “immutably fixing the distribution of workers between the employers and in cloistering the markets.”
“The rules in question are such as to impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club,” the court said in statement.
The Diarra case, which is supported by the global players’ union FIFPro, went through FIFA judicial bodies before the 2016 election of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino has since made it a priority to modernise transfer market rules.
While Diarra and Infantino have not yet commented on Friday’s ruling, FIFPro said on behalf of professional football players worldwide, “FIFPRO welcomes these findings”.
“The ECJ has just handed down a major ruling on the regulation of the labour market in football (and, more generally, in sport), which will change the landscape of professional football.”
However, the ruling could take a couple of years before any changes go into affect as it is part of a Belgian court case which is still ongoing.
FIFA said it would “analyse the decision in coordination with other stakeholders before commenting further.”

source