In the dispute between the French footballer Lassana Diarra and FIFA, the Court of Justice of the EU found that part of FIFA’s rules relating to player transfers are contrary to the EU competition protection rules.
The French footballer unilaterally terminated his contract with the football club Lokomotiv Moscow, because of, according to him, “failure to fulfill contractual obligations” on the part of the club. After the termination of this Contract, the footballer was prevented from concluding a new Contract with the Belgian club Sporting Charleroi, as a result of the FIFA rules according to which “when a player terminates an existing contract with a club before the expiry of the contract term and without ‘just cause’, and subsequently joins a new football club, both the player and the new club are jointly and severally liable to compensate the former club.“ Therefore, given the refusal of FIFA to give guarantees that the new club will not be obliged to pay an appropriate amount of money to the former club, the footballer was forced to seek justice before the competent institutions.
First, the footballer filed a complaint with the European Commission, stating that FIFA’s rules are contrary to the EU competition law and the right to free movement of workers. The Commission refused to act on the complaint, and such decision was contested before the General Court. The General Court also refused to act on the footballer’s action, prompting an appeal before the Court of Justice of the EU.
Acting on the matter, the Court of Justice of the EU determined that the FIFA rules, formulated in this way, violate Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which refers to the protection of competition and Article 45 of the same Treaty, which refers the freedom of movement of workers. In addition, the Court of Justice found that the European Commission erred by refusing to act and consider whether there is an inconsistency between FIFA rules and EU competition law and the freedom of movement of workers. As a result, the Court of Justice of the EU referred the matter back to the European Commission for reconsideration.
With the ball now in the Commission’s court, it remains to be seen what the legal and practical consequences of the Court’s as well as the Commission’s decision would be. What is important and interesting to note is that, this decision establishes the principle that the rules of the independent bodies that regulate football, and sports in general, cannot be contrary to the basic rules and principles of the EU. Furthermore, this decision may cause a chain reaction regarding the rest of the rules related to transfers of football players from one club to another, which is certainly one of the most important aspects of football from a legal and economic point of view. In addition, this decision of the Court is certainly in the direction of greater protection of football players, and in general of athletes as workers.