Dutch foundation launches class action lawsuit against FIFA over transfer rules after Diarra ruling
The Justice for Players foundation said in a statement Monday that men and women across the world who have played for a club in the European Union or the United Kingdom since 2002 are eligible to join the legal procedure.
The legal move follows a landmark ruling from top EU court last year stating that some parts of FIFA's transfer regulations did not comply with the bloc's laws on competition and freedom of movement for labor.
The foundation says it is fighting for the right of players 'whose earnings were compromised as a result of FIFA's restrictive rules on termination of contracts and transfers." In addition to FIFA, Justice For Players is also taking legal action against the national football associations of the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and Denmark.
'Preliminary estimates indicate that the number of affected footballers may comprise approximately 100,000 players,' it said.
By ruling in the Lassana Diarra case that some FIFA regulations on player transfers are contrary to EU legislation relating to competition and freedom of movement, the European Court of Justice has paved the way for deep changes in the sport's economy.
Diarra, a former Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea player, signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013. The deal was terminated a year later after he was unhappy with alleged pay cuts. FIFA and then the Court of Arbitration for Sport found the Russian club terminated the contract 'with just cause' and ordered the player to pay 10.5 million euros ($11.2 million). Diarra argued his search for a new club was affected by FIFA rules, making his next employer jointly responsible for paying compensation to Lokomotiv.
Some analysts have compared the ruling to the 1995 decision on Belgian Jean-Marc Bosman. That ruling removed restrictions placed on foreign EU footballers within national leagues and allowed players in the bloc to move to another club for free when their contracts ended.
But for now, the decision on Diarra has not changed how the global soccer transfer market, worth more than $10 billion each season, functions.
Justice for Players said that economists at Compass Lexecon consulting firm estimate that FIFA regulations caused the affected players to earn about 8% less over their careers.
'All professional football players have lost a significant amount of earnings due to the unlawful FIFA regulations,' said the foundation chair, Lucia Melcherts. 'The past and even current system unduly favours FIFA who has far too much unilateral power. In any other profession, people are allowed to change jobs voluntarily.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
European Gas Stuck in Five-Week Range as Stockpiling Progresses
European natural gas prices continued to trade in the narrow range they've been stuck in for around five weeks as the region steadily boosts fuel stockpiles for next winter. Benchmark futures hovered near €34 a megawatt-hour after settling slightly higher in the previous session. Contracts have mostly traded between €32 and €35 a megawatt-hour since late June, with July seeing the narrowest monthly range so far this year.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
EU Investor Confidence Plummets
Investor confidence in Europe drops sharply after a US-EU trade deal, with fears of US gains at the eurozone's expense. New US tariffs on Brazil, Switzerland, and others add to market uncertainty as negotiations with Canada, China, and Mexico continue.
43 minutes ago
Asian shares track rally on Wall Street that won back most of Friday's wipeout
BANGKOK -- Asian shares advanced on Tuesday, following U.S. stocks higher after they won back most of their sharp loss from last week. Investors appeared to have recovered some confidence after worries over how President Donald Trump's tariffs may be punishing the economy sent a shudder through Wall Street last week. At the same time, a stunningly weak U.S. jobs report Friday raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, potentially a plus for markets. This week's highlights will likely include earnings reports from The Walt Disney Co., McDonald's and Caterpillar, along with updates on U.S. business activity. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 40,515.81, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 1.4% to 3,192.57. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 24,799.67. The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.5% at 3,602.13. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1% to 8,759.90, while the SET in Thailand also gained 1.1%. India's Sensex was the sole outlier, losing 0.5% on concerns over trade tensions with the United States, with the Trump administration insisting on cutbacks in oil purchases from Russia. India has indicated that it will continue buying oil from Russia, saying its relationship with Moscow was 'steady and time-tested,' and that its stance on securing its energy needs is guided by the availability of oil in the markets and prevailing global circumstances. 'Trump's threats of 'substantial' tariff hikes on account of imports of Russian crude pose a quagmire for India,' Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. 'Between exacerbated U.S.-imposed geo-economic headwinds and financial/macro setbacks from Russian oil advantages lost, pain will be hard to avert.' On Monday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.5% to 6,329.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3%, or 585.06 points, to 44,173.64. The Nasdaq composite leaped 2% to 21,053.58. Idexx Laboratories helped Wall Street recover from its worst day since May, soaring 27.5% after the seller of veterinary instruments and other health care products reported a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected. The pressure is on U.S. companies to deliver bigger profits after their stock prices shot to record after record recently. Reports from big U.S. companies have largely come in better than expected and could help steady a U.S. stock market that may have been due for some turbulence. A jump in stock prices from a low point in April had raised criticism that the broad market had become too expensive. Tyson Foods likewise delivered a bigger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter, and the company behind the Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farms brands rose 2.4%. They helped make up for a nearly 3% loss for Berkshire Hathaway after Warren Buffett's company reported a drop in profit for its latest quarter from a year earlier. The drop-off was due in part to the falling value of its investment in Kraft Heinz. American Eagle Outfitters jumped 23.6% after Trump weighed in on the debate surrounding the retailer's advertisements, which highlight actor Sydney Sweeney's great jeans. Some critics thought the reference to the blonde-haired and blue-eyed actor's 'great genes' may be extolling a narrow set of beauty standards. 'Go get 'em Sydney!' Trump said on his social media network. Wayfair climbed 12.7% after the retailer of furniture and home decor said accelerating growth helped it make more in profit and revenue during the spring than analysts expected. Tesla rose 2.2% after awarding CEO Elon Musk 96 million shares of restricted stock valued at approximately $29 billion. The move could alleviate worries that Musk may leave the company. In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 9 cents to $66.20 per barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 8 cents to $68.68 per barrel. The U.S. dollar was unchanged at 147.09 Japanese yen. The euro slipped to $1.1555 from $1.1573.
