At the request of the Belgian judiciary, the ECJ examined the case of Lassana Diarra. The ruling could have far-reaching consequences.

FIFA has suffered a legal defeat – with potentially far-reaching consequences for professional soccer: certain transfer rules of the International Federation of Association Football violate European law, according to the judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg on Friday. Accordingly, certain paragraphs applied “likely hinder the free movement” of professional soccer players.

At the request of the Belgian judiciary, the ECJ examined the case of Lassana Diarra. The former French international had abruptly left his club Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014 due to salary cuts. Lokomotiv sued Diarra for breach of contract, and FIFA imposed a fine of more than ten million euros, which was upheld by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In addition, Diarra’s future club would also have to pay a fine, which is why the Belgian first division club Royal Charleroi refrained from signing him. Diarra and his lawyers then took legal action against FIFA. In 2017, a Belgian commercial court had already awarded Diarra compensation of €60,001 in the first instance for the failed transfer.