Twenty-nine years after Bosman, does the Diarra ruling portend a new revolution in the world of football? Some speak of an earthquake while others speak of a storm in a glass of water since this Friday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invited Fifa to modify its regulations to allow players to break their contract unilaterally without disproportionate compensation
and to engage with another club without the latter being sanctioned.
A ten-year-old dispute
At the request of the Belgian justice system, the high court established in Luxembourg examined the case of the former French international who had contested, ten years ago, the conditions of his departure from Lokomotiv Moscow. Due to a drastic reduction in his salary, Diarra left the Moscow club, but the latter deemed the break unfair and demanded 20 million euros from him, ultimately reduced to half. Consequence: Charleroi finally gave up recruiting the Frenchman for fear of having to assume part of these…
