In its ruling on the Lassana Diarra case, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared on Friday that certain FIFA rules on player transfers were contrary to European Union competition law and freedom of movement.
The move comes after international footballer Lassana Diarra legally challenged FIFA rules following a dispute with club Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014.
His departure from the Russian club, accompanied by financial penalties, had pushed Sporting de Charleroi to give up recruiting him.
According to Lassana Diarra a potential deal with Belgian club Charleroi had fallen through due to FIFA rules. The rules stipulate that if a player terminates his contract without reason deemed valid, the latter as well as any club wishing to recruit him would be jointly responsible for paying compensation to the previous club.
He sued the Football Association and the Belgian federation in a Belgian court for damages and a loss of six million euros. The case has been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a ruling.
The court’s decision, which favors Lassana Diarra, should lead to an upheaval in the regulation of the football market and modify the economy of sport.
Many professional players affected by these rules, in force since 2001, could now seek compensation for their losses.
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