Adviser Warns: FIFA Transfer Policies Could Violate EU Regulations.

Posted 21 days ago

An adviser to Europe's highest court has suggested that certain FIFA rules regarding player transfers might break EU regulations. This is because these rules could interfere with the agreements between players and clubs.

Advocate General Maciej Szpunar recently spoke to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), mentioning that certain rules within FIFA could be too restrictive and might only be justified in specific situations.

He pointed out that these rules could limit clubs from buying players and create obstacles to fair competition in the transfer market.

This issue has arisen from a case involving Lassana Diarra, a former Premier League player who joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013 but had his contract terminated a year later.

Diarra's move to Belgian club Charleroi fell through because of concerns about compensating Lokomotiv under FIFA's rules.

Diarra has taken legal action, claiming that FIFA's regulations, which hold a new club jointly responsible for compensation along with the player, made it hard for him to find a new team. He has sued FIFA and the Royal Belgian Football Association for damages amounting to six million euros.

The CJEU is now considering this case, with Szpunar and Diarra's legal team suggesting that the judges should favor the player's side in their upcoming decision.