Revision of Fifa’s transfer system on the horizon?
Experts expect changes to the transfer rules, giving footballers more freedom to leave clubs. A ruling in the Diarra case is expected soon and could bring about such a revision. Stefaan Van den Bogaert, Professor of European Law, comments in Dutch newspaper ‘Het Parool’.
In the case in question, former footballer Lassana Diarra was fined millions in 2013 for unilateral termination of his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow, due to a conflict with the club. The player wanted to play for Charleroi in Belgium, but this violated Fifa rules and he ended up unemployed. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) says that employment rules must also apply to football players; that employees are free to go wherever they want and to quit their jobs. The CJEU refers to competition law and the free movement of persons.
Professor Van den Bogaert expects that ‘in the future it will be legitimate if a player unilaterally breaks his contract’. He also expects that the new club will be less likely to be held responsible for unilateral breach of contract. He is bothered by the ‘quasi automatism by which the new club is held liable for breach of contract’. The current penalties, which include a fine of millions and a temporary ban on transfers, are often too rigid. Fines will have to align with national labour law and therefore be lower.
Clubs like Ajax, which have to rely mainly on selling players they have trained themselves, need not worry about their revenue model. Professor Van den Bogaert says that the revised transfer rules only affect unilateral breach of contract.
More information
Read the full article in Het Parool (in Dutch)
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