EU court gives view on FIFA’s agent rules
The EU’s highest court has clarified how EU law applies to rules set out by football’s governing body FIFA on the activities of agents.
The Court of Justice’s judgment followed questions referred to it by a German court that was hearing challenges to the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR) brought by two football agents.
The provisions being challenged include a ban on simultaneously representing more than one party in a deal, FIFA’s licensing rules, and measures setting out how agents can seek new players or coaches to represent.
Ban on cartels
The EU court said that it was ultimately up to the German court to assess whether the contested FIFA rules were contrary to the EU prohibition on cartels.
It pointed out, however, that a rule prohibiting agents from approaching or concluding agreements with a client who was already bound by an exclusive representation agreement outside of a two-month window before that deal expired was incompatible with the ban on cartels.
The judges said that the rule did not apply to agents who were already bound by an exclusive agreement, giving them “an undue advantage”.
‘Obstacles’ to providing services
The judges also found that some of the rules constituted obstacles to the freedom to provide services under EU law, while they also noted FIFA’s dominant position in football markets due to its regulatory and supervisory powers.
They added, however, that it was up to the German court to decide on whether FIFA was abusing its dominant position, while the German court would also have to assess whether obstacles to the freedom to provide services could be justified by “a legitimate objective in the public interest”.
According to the court, such objectives included:
- Avoiding conflicts of interest,
- Setting basic ethical standards and protecting players and coaches from abusive practices,
- Ensuring a higher level of protection for agents’ clients, and for agents themselves, by establishing a uniform legal framework, and
- Guaranteeing the integrity of the transfer system and of sporting competitions.
FIFA plans meeting
FIFA welcomed the judgment, saying that the court had confirmed that key elements of its rules could be justified.
Emilio García Silvero (chief legal and compliance officer) also welcomed the court’s guidance on how EU competition law applied to the FFAR.
“We will continue to carefully analyse the full judgment and its practical implications,” he continued.
“In any event, and notwithstanding this positive development, we intend to invite agent representatives to a meeting in the coming weeks with the aim of reaching a consensual solution,” the FIFA official added.