August 5 – The chasm between FIFA and the game’s players is widening at pace following the launch of a class action lawsuit claiming compensation for professionals who have been adversely impacted by FIFA regulations.
The Justice for Players Foundation (JfP), a Dutch organisation, believes there are more than 100,000 players whose career earnings were reduced by FIFA’s rules on the termination of contracts and transfers. The total claim could run into more than €500million, according to some industry insiders, while the JfP itself points to analysis which suggests the suit could end with a ‘multibillion claim’.
The action has been launched following the October 2024 Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling on the Lassana Diarra case in which some of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players were found to be unlawful as they broke EU competition law and the right to freedom of movement. For professional footballers, rules meant that breaking their contract was virtually impossible without just cause, ultimately tying them to clubs on long term deals that could have been bettered elsewhere, and JfP reference an analysis by economists at Compass Lexecon who reckon that such rules could have reduced players’ earnings by 8% over the course of their careers.
Lucia Melcherts, chair of the board of JfP, said: “All professional football players have lost a significant amount of earnings due to the unlawful FIFA regulations. Justice for Players is bringing this claim to help achieve justice for footballers and fairness. The past and even current system unduly favours FIFA who has far too much unilateral power. In any other profession, people are allowed to change jobs voluntarily. The same should be true in football, particularly as the average career span of a professional footballer according to a FIFPro study is only 8 years long.”
JfP says it wants to represent “all professional footballers who are playing or who have played in clubs in the European member states and the United Kingdom and who have been adversely affected by FIFA’s unlawful rules from 2002 to the present.”
FIFA is already in dispute with global players’ union FIFPRO over its refusal to involve players’ representatives in calendar and workload discussions.
FIFPRO Europe said that it had been notified of the class action and that “in coordination with FIFPRO, will now take the time to thoroughly assess the foundation’s initiative”.
In a statement the players’ union said: “For FIFPRO Europe, the establishment of this foundation represents the anticipated practical response to the CJEU’s Diarra judgment, effectively centralising advocacy for affected players’ interests that have broad implications for the football industry.
“Based on our founding principles and statutes, FIFPRO Europe recognises the fundamental right of players to pursue justice in what has constituted the most significant and long-lasting non-poaching agreement within the sports industry.”
The case is being brought in the Netherlands under the Dutch Act on the Settlement of Mass Damages in Collective Action (WAMCA). Netherlands-based law firm Finch Dispute Resolution is leading the class action, which is fully funded by Deminor, one of Europe’s providers of legal finance. Players will not have to pay to join the legal action.
JfP has issued a call for players and their representatives to join the class action which they can do via the JfP website.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1754396562labto1754396562ofdlr1754396562owedi1754396562sni@n1754396562osloh1754396562cin.l1754396562uap1754396562
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