Legal Action Against FIFA Over Transfer Regulations

A seismic legal confrontation between players and FIFA.

This is the perspective of former Fulham midfielder-turned-lawyer Udo Onwere, who assessed the significance of a compensation claim initiated against FIFA this week on behalf of current and former professional footballers regarding transfer regulations.

On Monday, the Dutch foundation Justice for Players (JFP) announced the launch of a class action lawsuit against FIFA and the football associations of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark.

The lawsuit asserts that approximately 100,000 footballers in Europe since 2002 may have suffered income losses due to what it describes as "unlawful" FIFA regulations. Preliminary analyses suggest that the damages could total several billion pounds.

This case stems from a ruling by the European Court of Justice (CJEU) last year, which determined that certain FIFA regulations regarding football transfers violated EU laws.

In October, the CJEU ruled in favor of former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra, who claimed that some FIFA rules limited his freedom of movement and breached competition law, leading him to sue FIFA.

Onwere, now a partner at law firm Bray and Krais, remarked, "This class action could rewrite the rules governing player mobility across the global football industry. What sets this case apart from previous disputes with the governing body is its scale and complexity. The outcome of this litigation could usher in a new era of transfer regulations that balances contractual stability with player autonomy. It could prove to be as transformative as the landmark 1995 Bosman ruling."

This comparison is particularly significant as JFP is advised by Diarra's Belgian lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont, who successfully represented ex-player Jean-Marc Bosman in the landmark 1995 case.

The Bosman ruling fundamentally changed the sport, allowing players to run down their contracts and transfer to new clubs without compensation demands from their previous teams. Now, thirty years later, some believe this current case could enable players to terminate their contracts without penalty before their agreements expire.

BBC Sport has learned that FIFA has until early September to respond to the impending legal action.

Background

Last year, the CJEU determined that FIFA's refusal to provide Diarra with an international transfer certificate (ITC) for a proposed move to Belgian club Charleroi in 2015—after he was found to have breached his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow—demonstrated that FIFA's rules "impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to pursue opportunities with new clubs."

Diarra's legal team contested a FIFA rule that holds a club wishing to sign a player jointly liable for compensation to the player’s former club if the player’s prior contract was terminated without just cause. They also challenged a rule allowing the national association of a player’s former club to withhold an ITC in the event of a dispute, which they argued further restricted player movement.

The court ruled that FIFA should not use the ITC system to prevent players who have breached contracts from moving freely to new opportunities.

At the time, FIFA stated it had been "continuously improving" the transfer system for the benefit of players, clubs, and leagues, aiming to ensure players can train and develop while maintaining competition integrity through a robust regulatory framework. Although FIFA adapted its transfer regulations temporarily, it acknowledged they could be subject to challenge.

JFP claims that affected professional footballers have earned approximately 8% less over their careers due to FIFA's regulations, and this litigation could enable players to terminate their contracts independently.

'A huge hit'

Lucia Melcherts, chair of JFP, stated, "All professional football players have lost significant earnings due to the unlawful FIFA regulations. In any other profession, individuals can change jobs voluntarily; this should also apply in football, especially considering that the average career span of a professional footballer is only eight years, according to a FIFPro study."

Daniel Gore, an arbitration lawyer at Withers, noted, "FIFA will find it challenging to mount a robust defense against these claims in light of the clear CJEU ruling in the Diarra case, which identified anti-competitive practices over several years. The anticipated wave of claims has begun, and FIFA's finances could take a substantial hit, especially following the success of the expanded Club World Cup this year and the upcoming World Cup in 2026."

The European division of the global players' union FIFPro, which supported Diarra's case, stated that this action "represents the anticipated practical response" to the CJEU ruling, effectively centralizing advocacy for the interests of affected players with broad implications for the football industry. They promised to "thoroughly assess" the foundation's initiative, emphasizing their commitment to fair compensation for players whose rights have been violated and advocating for meaningful reforms in international football governance.

FIFA has been approached for comment.

Legal Action Against FIFA Over Transfer Regulations

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