The Ruling of the Court ofJustice of the European Union in the Lassana Diarra Case and its Implications for FIFA Regulations

Kizilkaya Y.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW BULLETIN, vol.45, no.2, pp.386-414, 2025 (ESCI)

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effects that the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU) Lassana Diarra judgment has generated, as well as the potential effects it may produce in the future, on the international transfer system. In this regard, the contractual dispute between professional football player Lassana Diarra and Lokomotiv Moscow, together with the preliminary reference submitted by the Belgian courts to the CJEU, is briefly outlined within the framework of the structural problems of the transfer system applicable prior to the Diarra ruling. The study also addresses the CJEU's assessment ofthe FIFA regulations concerning the calculation of compensation, the liability of the new club, sporting sanctions, and the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) procedures under the free movement of workers (Article 45 TFEU) and competition law (Article 101 TFEU), as well as the Court's finding that these rules are incompatible with EU law. The studyfurther provides a briefexplanation ofthe basic principles ofthe international transfersystem applicable before the Diarra judgment and the decisive influence of the Bosman ruling on the establishment of this system. The Diarra judgment has revealed several structural problems that effectively restrict players' freedom of movement, particularly due to uncertain criteria for calculating compensation in cases of unilateral termination, the joint and several liability ofthe new club, and the imposition ofsportingsanctions. Within this context, the "interim regulatory framework" introduced by FIFA prior to the adoption of final amendments is also examined. The amendments are analysed from a legal perspective, and the potential implications ofthese temporary rules for practice are evaluated from the perspective of both players and clubs within the football ecosystem.