FIFA earthquake? The implications of the 'Lass Diarra case' in the European market

This Thursday, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled in favor of the former French footballer Lassana Diarra for a case open for more than a decade, where the then French midfielder denounced FIFA for preventing his signing for Belgian club Charleroi after having terminated his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow. FIFA ruled in favor of the Russian club based on the transfer regulations, so the former Real Madrid player had to wait until 2015 to sign, with a letter of freedom, with Olympique Marseille.

According to the CJEU ruling, FIFA rules "hinder the free movement of players and restrict competition between clubs." Diarra, who retired from professional football in 2019, was fined 10 million euros for the mess with Lokomotiv, while the Belgian federation, in 2017, had taken a position in favor of 'Lass' in 2017, demanding compensation for the player. Seven years later, the CJEU has issued a historic ruling of great weight for the transfer market.

FIFA accepts the ruling of the CJEU and must change its transfer regulations

After the ruling, FIFA issued a statement accepting the resolution that requires it to modify points 17.4 and 17.5 of the transfer regulations. This means that, from now on, players will be able to free themselves from all responsibility after terminating a contract with a club in order to sign with another team. That is, FIFA will lose its authority over the transfer system, which will also have repercussions on UEFA and the rest of the confederations and associations.

"The ruling only calls into question two paragraphs of two articles of the FIFA Regulations on the status and transfer of players, which the national court is now invited to examine. FIFA will analyze the decision in coordination with other interested parties before making further comments" , details the highest football body in its statement in response to the CJEU.

The European market can change forever from now on

What does this mean for the European market and for the rest of the world's major leagues? That, basically, from now on players can break with transfer rights. That is, a footballer can terminate his contract with any club and change teams as a free agent, with which he would sign with a club for free in exchange for very high salaries. For large teams this will not be a problem, but it will be a problem for medium and short budget teams, since transfer rights represent their main source of income. From now on, the transfer market will radically change its rules.