Decision of the CJEU in the Case Lass Diarra – A Second Bosman Case?

4 November 2024 - Sven Wassmer

Almost thirty years after the ‘Bosman ruling’, which ended the restriction of foreign (EU) players in football teams and ensured their right to join a new club at the end of their previous contract without the requirement of a transfer fee, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently issued another ruling with implications for FIFA’s player transfer system.

Sven Wassmer, PhD Abogado & Rechtsanwalt +34 91 319 96 86

In August 2014, the Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow terminated the professional contract with its player Lass Diarra and additionally demanded compensation of 20 million euros for unjustified breach of contract on the part of the player, based on the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP). Additionally, article 17.2 RSTP holds both the player and his or her new club liable for the awarded compensation. This joint liability is of crucial importance for the case and the decision at hand, as it makes it more difficult or even impossible for a club to sign a player when the former club is claiming compensation for unjustified termination of contract due to the indeterminable financial risk. In addition, the RSTP foresees sporting sanctions for the player and the new club, as well as the impossibility for the new club to register the player as long as the dispute over the termination of contract with the former club is pending. In the case in question, the Belgian club Sporting Charleroi wanted to sign Lass Diarra in February 2015, but did not do so because it feared having to pay compensation to Lokomotiv Moscow and face the other consequences set out by the RSTP.

Now, in its decision, the CJEU states that FIFA’s transfer system has the potential to restrict the fundamental right of freedom of movement for workers within the European Union, guaranteed by article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and hence violates EU law. This seems logical, since the fact that a club from an EU country does not sign a player simply because it does not want to bear the risk of compensation and sanctions provided for in the RSTP clearly limits a footballer’s ability to work in another EU country as an employee. Furthermore, the CJEU finds incompatibilities with EU competition rules.

While this decision of the CJEU impacts professional football significantly less than the Bosman ruling thirty years ago, as it does not call the entire system of player transfers into question, it does oblige FIFA to make important changes to certain rules on contractual stability between players and clubs.