EU court: FIFA transfer rules violate law on free movement of workers
Kyiv • UNN
The European Court of Justice has ruled that certain FIFA rules on player transfers are in conflict with EU legislation on the free movement of workers. The decision may have significant implications for the transfer market.
Some rules related to the football market (and contained in the Regulation on the Status and Transfer of Players) contradict EU law.
He writes UNN with reference to Österreich.
According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, certain FIFA rules on player transfers violate the freedom of movement granted by EU law on player transfers. FIFA has not yet commented on this decision, which may have far-reaching implications for the transfer market.
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In 2014, Lassana Diarra, a former midfielder for Chelsea, Arsenal, and Real Madrid, left Lokomotiv Moscow just a year after signing a four-year contract: the club appealed to the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, claiming that the player had violated the rules when terminating his contract by leaving without good reason after a salary cut.
Diarra had an offer from the Belgian club Charleroi, which he withdrew after FIFA refused to sign the transfer certificate. This prevented the midfielder from joining the Belgian federation. In 2015, FIFA decided that Diarra should pay Lokomotiv 10 million euros in compensation, which was the reason for the lawsuit filed by the player.
Against FIFA and the Belgian Federation. A Belgian judge referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling on whether FIFA's rules comply with Articles 45 (freedom of movement of workers) and 101 (prohibition of cartels) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The same articles apply to the Super League case.
A Belgian judge has asked the EU Court of Justice a preliminary question on whether FIFA's rules are in line with Articles 45 (freedom of movement of workers) and 101 (prohibition of cartels) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The Court of Appeal of Mons, Belgium, appealed to the EU Court of Justice with the question of whether these rules are compatible with the right to free movement of workers and competition law.
“The court found that all these rules are contrary to EU law. Firstly, the rules in question are such that they impede the free movement of professional footballers who wish to develop their activities by moving to a new club located in another Member State of the European Union,” the CJEU writes.
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