French player’s FIFA settlement ‘positive’
A Dutch organisation that launched a class action last year against football’s governing body FIFA has welcomed news of a settlement between the organisation and French player Lassana Diarra.
FIFA confirmed the settlement earlier this week, adding that it had not made any admission of liability nor any compensation payment.
A case taken by Diarra led to a judgment by the EU Court of Justice, which found that FIFA’s transfer regulations infringed EU competition law and the right to free movement of workers, making it difficult for a player to terminate an employment contract without just cause.
After the ruling, Justice for Players (JfP) announced that it intended to seek compensation on behalf of male and female footballers affected by the FIFA rules who had played in EU member states and Britain since 2002.
‘Optimistic’
In a statement yesterday (9 June), JfP chair Lucia Melcherts said that, while details of the settlement were confidential, it was “very positive” that Diarra appeared to have ended his personal legal battle with FIFA satisfactorily.
“By settling with Diarra, FIFA appears to have recognised that its unlawful transfer rules require a remedy,” she stated.
“The Justice for Players Foundation is therefore optimistic that we will ultimately also be able to reach a fair solution for other footballers who were harmed by the same rules,” Melcherts added.
‘Just cause’
The FIFA rules at the centre of the dispute apply in cases where a club considers that one of its players has terminated his employment contract without ‘just cause’ before the normal term of that contract.
In that case, the player and any club wishing to employ him are jointly and severally liable for any compensation due to the former club.
Diarra had signed for the Russian football club Lokomotiv Moscow, only to see that contract terminated by this club one year later for an alleged breach “and termination of contract without just cause”.
The player claimed that a potential deal with a Belgian club fell through because of the FIFA conditions and sued for damages and loss of earnings of €6 million.