FIFA likely to lose EU legal dispute over player transfer rules, court aide says – POLITICO

The Court of Justice rules on the dispute of an unidentified professional player based in Paris whose contract with the Russian football club Lokomotiv Moscow was terminated after a year for alleged violation of its conditions.

The player challenged the decision in a Belgian court after a potential deal with Sporting du Pays de Charleroi in Belgium fell through due to FIFA rules. He is seeking 6 million euros in damages and loss of income. The European court must rule on points of European law to advise the Belgian judges who will make the final decision.

“There is little doubt about the restrictive nature” of FIFA’s regulations on the status and transfer of players, Szpunar said in his opinion.

“By their very nature, the contested provisions limit the possibility for players to change clubs and, conversely, for (new) clubs to hire players, in the event that a player has terminated his contract without just cause,” he explained.

“The contested provisions, by limiting the ability of clubs to recruit players, necessarily affect competition between clubs in the market for the acquisition of professional players,” he said.

This is case C-650/22 FIFA.