PARIS.- The International Federation of Soccer (FIFA) announced this Monday the adoption of “a provisional framework” regarding the regulation of player transfers, after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union following the Lassana Diarra case.
This decision comes just over a week before the opening of the European winter transfer market and is the result of “close consultation with interested parties,” FIFA said.
The modifications affect article 17 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
“The framework addresses the rules on compensation for breach of contract, joint and several liability, incentives for breach of contract, international transfer certificates and procedures before the Football Court,” summarized the governing body of world football.
These adaptations aim, according to FIFA, to establish “more clarity and stability” for the transfer windows, as well as “maintain uniform rules at the international level.”
In this way, and with the opening of the January ‘market’ just around the corner, FIFA adjusts, at least provisionally, its regulations on player transfers after a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which In October, it examined the case of Lassana Diarra, a French international and former Real Madrid player, who had denounced the conditions of her departure from Lokomotiv Moscow ten years ago.
Due to a drastic reduction in his salary, Diarra left the Russian club, but the latter considered that breakup abusive and demanded 20 million euros from him, reduced to 10.5 million euros ($11.5 million).
Immediate consequence
As a consequence, the Belgian club Charleroi refused to take on the Frenchman’s services for fear of having to assume a part of that amount, in accordance with the FIFA regulations studied by the CJEU.
The Court considered in its ruling that certain FIFA rules, relating to international transfers of players, were contrary to European law and could “hinder the free movement” of professional footballers.
The European court considered that the players and the clubs that wanted to sign them assumed possible legal and financial risks.
With the new changes, FIFA intends to adapt its rules to those of the competition that are in force in the European Union.
