A historic ruling for football. The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling on the case “Lassana Diarra and FifPro against FIFA and the Belgian Football Federation”, dealing a very hard blow to the body chaired by Gianni Infantino. “The FIFA rules on player transfers violate European Union law”, reads the ruling, as “they risk hindering free circulation of professional footballers who wish to develop their business by going to work in a new club”. In the event of termination for “just cause” there will therefore be a very important precedent, which can change many things.
The facts.
This ruling comes at the end of a decade of litigation. In August 2014, French international Lassana Diarra was signed by Lokomotiv Moscow and signed a 3-season contract, but his club claimed that the player had terminated his contract without “just cause”, demanding €20 million in compensation in an appeal lodged before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber. The former French midfielder for Real, Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal, who retired in 2019, has filed a lawsuit to have his right to free movement of workers in Europe recognized. In 2014 he was unable to sign for the Belgians Charleroi, after the stormy farewell with Lokomotiv Moscow, precisely because FIFA denied him this possibility. In addition to the compensation to be paid to the Russians, the player was also ordered to pay a fine of 10.5 million for damages. Diarra opposed this rule and this led to the clash, which today saw the player win.
FIFA’s reaction.
“FIFA has taken note of the ruling issued today by the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to the case of the player Lassana Diarra. FIFA is satisfied that the legality of the key principles of the transfer system has been reconfirmed by today’s ruling. The ruling calls into question only two paragraphs of two articles of the FIFA Regulations on the status and transfer of players, which the national court is now invited to consider. FIFA will analyze the decision in coordination with other interested parties before commenting further.”
The words of FIFA lawyer, Emilio Garcia.
“We have taken note of the ruling issued today by the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to the case of Lassana Diarra. It is important to clarify that today’s decision does not change the fundamental principles of the transfer system at all. FIFA has continuously improved this system to many years – not for one’s own benefit, but for the benefit of players, clubs, leagues and affiliated associations, to ensure that players can train, develop and have stability, while safeguarding the integrity of competitions through implementation of a solid regulatory framework for the international transfer system”.