FIFA faces class action over transfer rules
A Dutch organisation set up to represent the interests of professional footballers across Europe has launched a class action against the sport’s governing body FIFA and several national associations.
Justice for Players (JfP) says that it intends to represent male and female footballers who have played in EU member states and Britain since 2002.
It is seeking compensation for players affected by FIFA rules on transfers that the EU’s highest court last year found to be contrary to EU law by impeding the free movement of footballers.
100,000 could be affected
According to JfP, preliminary estimates indicate that the number of affected footballers could be as high as 100,000.
by the EU’s Court of Justice came in a case brought by football player Lassana Diarra.
It found that FIFA regulations infringed EU competition law and the right to free movement of workers, making it difficult for a player to terminate an employment contract without just cause.
“By stating unequivocally that FIFA’s rules were unlawful and that those rules caused all players to suffer a financial loss, the CJEU in its judgement gave the green light to a Europe-wide class action,” JfP said in a statement.
“The unlawful FIFA regulations granted FIFA complete control over how and when players leave their current football clubs and under what conditions, effectively enforcing an extremely restrictive 'no-poaching agreement’,” it stated.
Deminor funding action
The class action is being brought in the Netherlands under the Dutch Act on the Settlement of Mass Damages in Collective Action (WAMCA).
Netherlands-based law firm Finch Dispute Resolution, which specialises in class actions in the Netherlands, is to represent JfP in the action.
The case is being funded by European legal-finance provider Deminor. According to JfP, this means that players will not have to pay to join the action or assume the financial risk associated with it.
“In any other profession, people are allowed to change jobs voluntarily. The same should be true in football, particularly as the average career span of a professional footballer, according to a FIFPro {players’ union] study, is only eight years long,” said JfP board chair Lucia Melcherts.
In a statement, FIFPRO Europe said that it recognised the fundamental right of players to pursue justice, adding that it would “take the time to thoroughly assess the foundation's initiative”.