Fifa to review transfer system after Diarra ruling

Fifa will hold a global consultation over potential changes to the transfer system after a court ruled some of its transfer rules break European Union laws.

Earlier this month the European Court of Justice found in favour of former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Lassana Diarra, who sued Fifa for damages.

The rules state that, when signing a free agent, clubs are jointly liable to pay compensation to a player’s former team if their contract was terminated without just cause.

Diarra argued that the rules restricted his freedom of movement after the termination of his contract with Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014, breaching competition law.

The court agreed that Fifa’s refusal to provide Diarra with an international transfer certificate (ITC) for a proposed move to Belgian club Charleroi in 2015 demonstrated that its rules “impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club”.

Fifa has now announced that it will open a “global dialogue” with footballing stakeholders as part of a process to adapt the rules.

“Fifa sees the Diarra decision as an opportunity to keep modernising its regulatory framework, which has been one of the declared objectives of the Fifa president since 2016,” said Fifa chief legal and compliance officer Emilio Garcia Silvero.

After the Diarra ruling, a Fifa spokesman said: “Fifa is satisfied that the legality of key principles of the transfer system have been reconfirmed.”