The face of football’s transfer system could soon be changed dramatically now that former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth man Lassana Diarra has been partially successful in his case at Europe’s highest court.
Football’s Transfer System Could Dramatically Change as FIFA, European Court of Justice and Players Union FIFPRO Fight it Out
Given that some aspects have now fallen in the Frenchman’s favour, FIFA’s transfer rules could be declared illegal by Europe’s highest court, the European Court of Justice.
The powerful players union, FIFPRO, have been supportive of Diarra in his decade-long fight against a club that believed they had the right to reduce his salary after a string of “poor performances” in their eyes.
Lokomotiv Moscow and Breach of Contract
Unsurprisingly, Diarra refused to accept the reduction in his pay, and he terminated his contract with Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013. The club refused to accept this stance and sued him for breach of contract, taking the case to FIFA’s dispute resolution chamber and winning. FIFA siding with the club.
Huge Compensation Paid for by Player and Club
As a result, Diarra was ordered to pay 10.5 million Euros in compensation to Lokomotiv Moscow and he has fought against this ever since the judgement was made. Unsurprisingly, no club would take on Diarra as they would be held jointly responsible for paying this vast sum to Lokomotiv.
So, what does it all mean? There is the potential that players will feel that they can now break their current contract and move to another, serving a few month’s notice as happens in almost every other walk of life.
Without transfer fees, this could prove catastrophic for clubs everywhere who rely on the transfer system to generate much-needed funds to keep going. Think of the smaller clubs in every league who invest at a low level to give players a chance, and coach them well in the hope of making a profit when the richer clubs splash the cash.
Potentially, these smaller clubs could end up being the biggest losers.
The Bosman Ruling
The extraordinary dispute has all the hallmarks of the Bosman ruling that transformed football transfers in 1995. Up until then, clubs could happily demand a transfer fee for a player even after their contract had expired.
Jean-Marc Bosman disagreed on this stance and with his lawyers, went to the European Court of Justice. The judge ruled in his favour meaning that when a player’s contract expired, the player could move freely to another club within the EU without a transfer fee.
Contracts are of course extremely important but so too are relationships that managers and clubs have with individual players.
Having had a 16-year career as a professional footballer in both Scotland and England, I was aware of various disputes at that time, but it never crossed my mind that I would ever be involved in a controversial disagreement with a manager or a club over my own contract.
I like to think I gave my all at every club I was at and always felt very privileged to be a part of this wonderful profession and to have the lifestyle of training and playing football every day. While I didn’t reach the heights of Lassana Diarra’s career, I can remember a great sense of injustice and feeling very aggrieved when I had a bizarre dispute with my manager, and I had no option but to fight back.
Dispute at Celtic
Towards the end of my first spell at Celtic when Liam Brady had taken over from Billy McNeill in 1991, he very quickly made up his mind about me and told me I wasn’t part of his plans and so I was resigned to leaving the club.
At the time I was happy to move on, I had played in Scottish football for 7 years with both Motherwell and Celtic and I fancied trying my luck in England. Initially, I admired Liam for being so open and upfront with me but as results for him quickly deteriorated, Liam’s mood changed dramatically.
Both Motherwell and Falkirk were interested in signing me and I spoke to both clubs. Liam clearly thought I would choose one or the other, but I was only speaking to them to gauge what was on offer and maybe use that knowledge as some sort of leverage when speaking to a club in England. When I informed him I didn’t want to go to either club, Liam was furious. “If you don’t sign for one of those clubs in the next week, I’m going to stop your wages”.
It was an outrageous threat Liam was making but highlighted to me how powerful he felt he was, how powerful the club was in backing his stance and how much influence every club at the time had over all their players. I felt I didn’t deserve this treatment and with the help of Tony Higgins at the PFA in Scotland and supported by my dad, a chartered accountant, we eventually managed to avoid this odious attempt by the manager and club to exercise total control over my future.
The dispute lasted a few months and Liam wasn’t interested in the stress or strain this was causing me or my pregnant wife at the time. Thankfully, I was able to resume my career a few months later with Bolton Wanderers.
Football’s Transfer System: The Smaller Clubs Must Survive
Regarding Lassana Diarra and his case, some may say that most of the power in football today lies not with the player but in a billions of dollars industry, the money that trickles down the leagues to smaller clubs helps them survive.
While the big stars might be able to sign for the highest bidder, fans of the game will hope the smaller clubs aren’t left behind if there is a seismic shift in the transfer system.
Read More: Referees and Consistency
