The EU’s Supreme Court has found that some of FIFA’s rules on international transfers are contrary to Community law

The Court added that the current rules “impose significant legal risks, unpredictable and potentially very high financial risks, as well as significant sporting risks on players and on clubs seeking to employ them, which together may hinder the international transfers of these players. “

Diarra signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013. The contract was terminated a year later after Diarra was unhappy with alleged pay cuts.

Lokomotiv Moscow asked the FIFA Dispute Settlement Chamber for compensation, and the player filed a counterclaim seeking compensation for unpaid wages. The Court of Arbitration for Sport found that the Russian club terminated Diarra’s contract “for just cause” and the player was ordered to pay 10.5 million euros ($11.2 million).

Diarra claimed that the search for a new club was hampered by FIFA rules stipulating that any new team would be jointly responsible for paying damages to Lokomotiv.

The former Real Madrid player also argued that a potential deal with Belgian club Charleroi fell through due to FIFA rules, and sued FIFA and the Belgian FA in a Belgian court for six million euros ($7 million) in damages and loss of earnings. As the lawsuit is still pending in Belgian courts, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice for a ruling.

While the court found that FIFA’s transfer rules could help maintain some stability in professional squads and guarantee the regularity of competitions, it insisted that in Diarra’s case, “the rules in question nevertheless appear to be subject to review (by the Belgian court) in many respects going beyond beyond what is necessary to achieve that purpose.”

Diarra’s case, which is supported by the global players’ union FIFPro, was brought before FIFA’s judicial authorities before the election of FIFA president Gianni Infantino in 2016, who made modernizing transfer market rules a priority.

On competition rules, the court sharply criticized FIFA rulings restricting and preventing cross-border competition between European clubs.

“The Court recalled that the ability to compete through the recruitment of trained players plays an essential role in the professional football sector and that rules which impose blanket restrictions on this form of competition, invariably fixing the allocation of workers between employers and closing markets, are akin to an anti-poaching agreement.” – he said.

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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press