Radical legal case could let players terminate their own contracts for free

Times

11 hours ago

New legal action that could lead to law changes allowing players to terminate their contracts with clubs without paying huge compensation has been launched across Europe.
A class action by a group called Justice For Players is seeking compensation potentially totalling billions of pounds for alleged loss of income due to restrictive transfer rules.
The action has been launched against Fifa and the FAs of France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. But the Dutch-based group said any of the estimated 100,000 male or female players who have played for a club in the EU or the UK since 2002 are eligible to join the claim.
The English FA is not facing a legal claim at present but has been sent a copy of the legal action by the group.
It follows a Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruling in October 2024 in a case brought by the former Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, who was ordered to pay €10million (£8.7million) by Fifa for leaving the Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow one year into a four-year deal.
The CJEU said some of Fifa's rules on player transfers went against EU laws and freedom of movement principles, which led to Fifa adopting an 'interim framework' on transfer rules while it looked at the legal implications of the ruling.
Under Fifa's rules, players have in effect been prevented from leaving their clubs unilaterally in the middle of their contract and agreeing a free transfer elsewhere due to the threat of being forced to pay huge compensation. The CJEU ruling means any transfer fee paid for the player cannot form part of the compensation, and the new legal action claims that people in any other profession are allowed to leave their jobs in the middle of a contract.
The argument in favour of the existing transfer system is that it benefits smaller clubs who earn income from selling players, and that complete freedom of movement would lead to the richest clubs paying enormous salaries to sign the best players without compensating the clubs who developed them.
Franco Baldini, the England assistant manager under Fabio Capello, is one of the board members of Justice For Players. He said: 'As a former professional footballer, agent and someone who has worked in football in various managerial capacities, I have had first-hand experience of how much control and power Fifa has over the players.
'So I am very proud to be part of Justice For Players and to be part of something that could help change the existing system and make football more inclusive and more sustainable.'
Justice For Players said it would be advised by the law firm Dupont-Hissel, founded by Jean-Louis Dupont, the Belgian lawyer who won the Bosman ruling in 1995 that cleared the way for players in the EU to move to other clubs at the end of contracts without a transfer fee being paid.
The players' union Fifpro Europe said the action was an 'anticipated practical response to the CJEU's Diarra judgment, effectively centralising advocacy for affected players' interests that have broad implications for the football industry'.
Justice For Players said its consultancy firm Compass Lexecon had estimated that damages could run into billions of euros.