- Title: Diarra ruling will be more impactful than Bosman, says his lawyer
- Date: 4th October 2024
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (OCTOBER 4, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LASSANA DIARRA'S LAWYER JEAN-LOUIS DUPONT SAYING: "There is no joy in, you know, in the in seeing that the system goes down. It's not you know, it's not a victory, per se. It's a victory if you use it to do something better. But from a legal point of view, there is a certainty. The rules have been declared ill
- Embargoed: 18th October 2024 13:16
- Keywords: FIFA Lamine Diarra soccer transfer
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: Luxembourg
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Europe,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA007932304102024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The impact of Friday's ruling by The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on transfer regulations will have a much bigger impact than the Bosman decision, said a lawyer involved in both cases.
Jean Louis Dupont represented former French international and Real Madrid star Lassana Diarra in a battle against FIFA, and also advised Jean-Marc Bosman 30 years ago.
In 2014 Diarra left Lokomotiv Moscow one year into a four-year deal and the club took the matter to FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), arguing he had breached the rules when his contract was terminated after the player decided to leave without just cause following a pay cut.
Diarra received an offer to join Belgian club Charleroi but the club backed out after FIFA refused to sign the International Transfer Certificate (ITC), preventing the player being registered with the Belgian federation.
According to the CJEU ruling, it is also unlawful to refuse to sign the ITC.
Speaking to Reuters after the decision, Dupont also said thousands players across Europe could potentially be entitled to compensation from FIFA because the transfer system had governed soccer for more than 20 years.
FIFA said it was "satisfied that the legality of key principles of the transfer system have been re-confirmed in today's ruling. The ruling only puts in question 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 stakeholders before commenting further," the soccer body added.
"On behalf of professional football players worldwide FIFPRO welcomes these (ECJ) findings," the international players' union said.
"The ECJ has just handed down a major ruling on the regulation of the labor market... which will change the landscape of professional football."
In 1995 the Bosman ruling allowed players to move within the EU from one club to another at the end of their contract without a transfer fee being paid, handing much more power to players.
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