Lassana Diarra was a French defensive midfielder who played for such clubs as: Chelsea; Arsenal and Real Madrid. However, it's his termination of his contract with Russian side, Lokomotiv Moscow, that is making all the headlines. It's calling into question the EU laws.
In 2014, Diarra and Lokomotiv Moscow parted ways due to his conduct. The club went to FIFA, seeking damages for breach of contract. They were able to lobby FIFA to ban Diarra from playing until the dispute was settled.
This went all the way to the Court of Arbritation for Sport (CAS). In 2016, he was ordered to pay Lokomotiv Moscow a €10 million fine. Additionally, he was ordered to pay CAS €10 000. He also got slapped with a 15-month suspension and from being paid a salary. Both the latter and the suspension were both backdated.
It has recently come to light that Diarra was suing FIFA for damages. The European Court of Justice found in favour of Diarra. The rules state that, when signing a free agent, clubs are jointly liable to pay compensation to a player's former team if their contract was terminated without just cause.
It went in Diarra's favour because the Court felt that he didn't have any free movements in regard to club selection. The rule prohibited him from joining Belgian side, Royal Charleroi, in 2015. Part of this included FIFA denying Diarra an International Transfer Certificate. This would've allowed the club to register the player. The decision was connected to the rule that, "impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club."
"The likely practical outcome of Diarra will be that the transfer system in football, as we know it, will fall," was one of the conclusions drawn by the Belgian sports law experts and academics, Robby Houben, Oliver Budzinski and Melchior Wathelet.
This outcome will now change the landscape of the transfer system. FIFA will no longer hold the bargaining chips. Transfer fees can't be determined and more uncertain contracts will be made. The knock-on effects could be huge. For many clubs in Europe, transfer dealing is a vital means of keeping their heads above water. A ruling against FIFA would act against that and, probably, in favour of bigger clubs who could persuade players to quit their contracts in a way that is not possible now. On the other hand, the kind of trading models that underpin multi-club ownership groups would also become more uncertain. Clubs would effectively lose control of career paths.
The knock-on effects could be huge. For many clubs in Europe, transfer dealing is a vital means of keeping their heads above water. A ruling against FIFA would act against that and, probably, in favour of bigger clubs who could persuade players to quit their contracts in a way that is not possible now. On the other hand, the kind of trading models that underpin multi-club ownership groups would also become more uncertain; with clubs effectively losing control of career paths.
This ruling is said to be adding another layer to The Bosman Rule. This was made in 1995 and the decision banned restrictions on foreign EU players within national leagues and allowed players in the EU to move to another club at the end of a contract without a transfer fee being paid.
This ruling will allow a player to get out of their contract at any point.
FIFA will now have an open discussion with its stakeholders to process and adapt the rules. FIFA chief legal and compliance officer, Emilio Garcia Silvero, said, "FIFA sees the Diarra decision as an opportunity to keep modernising its regulatory framework, which has been one of the declared objectives of the FIFA president since 2016."
FIFA is said to have no quarrels regarding the decision. A FIFA spokesman said, "FIFA is satisfied that the legality of key principles of the transfer system have been reconfirmed."
To be frank, this whole situation is foreign to me. I never knew a transfer can be so complex. I believe the club shouldn't take responsibility for a fine that a player put on him/herself. In addition, a player should feel free to join whatever club he/she wants without worrying about past grieveances coming back to haunt them.
I would support the new layer to the Bosman Rule and FIFA's acceptance of the decision. All transfer decisions and registrations should be done by the clubs and players and have zero interactions and/or interferances from a governing body.
R