FIFA Regs: The Protected Period and its Effect on the Transfer Market

As follow-up to my earlier posts on the Diarra ruling and Viktor Gyokeres’ transfer saga, this edition will take a closer look at the “protected period” in a player’s contract.[1]   FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players define this as the contract’s initial two-to-three-year stretch, when an unjustified breach will subject the player, …

Why the Gyokeres transfer saga is not the Diarra ruling’s moment

Viktor Gyokeres has a problem and so far, he has not asked the landmark Diarra ruling[1] to solve it. For at least the past two transfer windows, the Swedish striker has been the market’s resident “missing piece” – the player who would complete a lucky superclub and turn their competitive dreams into reality.  So to …