Different rules now apply to footballers who do not complete a club contract. World football association FIFA announced this on Monday evening. The association wants to make it clearer when an early departure of a footballer is justified and how football clubs can claim compensation after a breach of contract, Reuters news agency reports. A new transfer period starts next week.
The change in regulations follows a ruling by the European Court of Justice. Last October, the Court ruled that specific transfer regulations of the global football association could hinder the free movement of people between EU member states, a basic principle.
FIFA rules dictated that footballers could not simply leave from one club to another. If a player wanted to unilaterally terminate a contract, the new FIFA club had to pay a lump sum to the former employer.
With the regulatory adjustment, FIFA hopes to comply with the ruling of the European Court. A contractual agreement must be based on ‘reasonableness’ and ‘good faith’, FIFA now prescribes. If these basic conditions are not applied, a party may terminate the agreement early. The Football Association has also adjusted the calculation criteria for compensation.
Diarra
The transfer issue was initiated by former footballer Lassana Diarra. The French midfielder got into trouble in 2014 with his then football club Lokomotiv Moscow. He refused to train and unilaterally broke his contract. According to FIFA rules, footballers were only allowed to terminate a contract in exceptional cases, so the Russian club demanded damages. FIFA ruled in favor of Lokomotiv, suspending Diarra for fifteen months and having to pay 10.5 million euros to the club.
The Belgian football club Sporting Charleroi wanted to buy Diarra, but FIFA rules made a transfer very unattractive. The new club would be held liable for the fine and risk a two-year transfer ban. With the support of the players’ union, Diarra challenged FIFA’s difficulty in making the transfer difficult. After ten years of litigation, he was proven right in October.
Players union
The international players’ union FIFPro is not happy with FIFA’s change in law. “The measures do not provide legal certainty for professional football players and do not reflect the ruling of the European Court of Justice,” said a spokesperson.