Lassana Diarra, former midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, has reached the end of a long legal battle with FIFA and Lokomotiv Moscow following his very difficult departure from the Russian club in 2014. The outcome of this case will have an impact on the transfer market, as the Court of Justice of the European Union has declared that certain rules of the soccer body are contrary to EU law. L’Equipe reports.
Dans un communiqué publié vendredi, l'avocat de Lassana Diarra s'est félicité que certaines règles de la FIFA encadrant les transferts entre clubs soient déclarées « contraires » au droit de l'Union européenne par la Cour de justice de l'UE. https://t.co/VCiATQz6At pic.twitter.com/jUuQbusOxd
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) October 4, 2024
“The rules in question are likely to hinder the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club”, said the CJEU.
FIFA’s rules, which require a club that takes the risk of poaching a footballer to pay compensation jointly and severally to the former club, are seen as “imprecise”, “discretionary” or “disproportionate”. Nor is prohibiting the new club from registering a new player, according to the CJEU’s judges.
All these financial and legal obstacles, which had been put in place by FIFA, are considered to be contrary to free competition, says the Court. However, the Court affirms that “compelling reasons relating to the ‘general interest’ may guide the authorities in their efforts to ensure a certain stability in club staffing levels”.
Justice is not our specialty, so it’s hard to say exactly how far-reaching this decision will be. However, changes are clearly necessary. FIFA must abide by the law, and changes are on the horizon.
Some are even talking about a complete revolution in the mercato, with players able to leave much more easily. Beware of exaggerations or misinterpretations. The sports paper also shared FIFA’s reaction. Which is far from worried.
Dans un communiqué publié ce vendredi, la FIFA se dit « satisfaite » que seules certaines de ses règles encadrant les transferts entre clubs soient déclarées « contraires » au droit de l'Union européenne par la Cour de justice de l'UE. https://t.co/xjcoATonpD pic.twitter.com/xti1XGAM7D
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) October 4, 2024
“FIFA has taken note of today’s ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case involving the player Lassana Diarra. FIFA is satisfied that the legality of the key principles of the transfer system has been reconfirmed in today’s ruling.
The judgment only calls into question two paragraphs of two articles of the FIFA regulations on the status and transfer of players, which the national jurisdiction is now invited to examine.”
Rather, it calms all the agitation that has been going on since midday, with some people already seeing the world of soccer changing completely. That’s despite the fact that the Court of Justice of the EU has also referred to the “general interest” of certain rules in order to bring a certain stability to soccer and clubs.
Let’s wait and see exactly what the consequences of this case will be. There will undoubtedly be some changes, but certainly not a complete overhaul of the system.
