How a former Chelsea star's court case could KILL the transfer market

Paul Macdonald

Updated: 4 Oct 2024 04:24 CDT
4 min read

Former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra, alongside player representatives FIFPro, are suing FIFA over a contract dispute with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2015 - and they have struck the first major blow in the case.

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The Russian side attempted to reduce Diarra’s salary and Diarra responded by refusing to train.

Lokomotiv sued him, and FIFA regulations put Diarra in breach of contract, requesting he pay back a portion (€10m) of his transfer fee to the club - indeed Lokomotiv had been looking for the full amount (the deal from fellow Russian side Anzhi was worth €20m) to be returned to them.

Diarra argued that he had nothing to do with agreeing that fee in the first place - that was between Lokomotiv, and Anzhi.

Furthermore, he was unable to obtain his International Transfer Certificate to allow him to continue his career in Belgium because FIFA had automatically suspended him, and so as a result of these circumstances, he was unable to work.

Charleroi, the Belgium club in question, admitted they couldn't hire Diarra for fear that FIFA could eventually find them liable for Diarra's outstanding transfer fee owed to Lokomotiv.

© IMAGO/FootballTransfers - Lassana Diarra (r) during his Real Madrid days

Bosman 2.0

Diarra’s lawyers have dubbed the case ‘Bosman 2.0’ and while that might be hyperbole, there are restrictions around freedom of movement and employment within FIFA's transfer system which have always seemed the antithesis of the EU model.

And the courts have agreed. A ruling from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published a statement on 4 October indicating that a shake-up of transfer regulations could be on the way.

"The rules in question are such as to impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club," it said.

The upshot is that this could fundamentally reshape how clubs, players and agents are forced to approach contracts, and may well blow up the current structure.

And, yes, even if the Premier League is outside the EU, they would be subject to the rules if they chose to buy an EU citizen from an EU team.

A judge from The Court of Justice for the European Union found in Diarra’s favour in May of this year, in a non-binding opinion, and this week it was announced there will be a final ruling on the case on October 4.

Whatever the outcome there will likely be appeals and further discussions to follow, but whilst we might not know it yet, the transfer market could be upended whether anyone is ready for it, or not.