Litigator & Counselor
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, …
Continue reading “FIFA Regs: The Protected Period and its Effect on the Transfer Market”
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 …
Continue reading “Why the Gyokeres transfer saga is not the Diarra ruling’s moment”
The following is part of an occasional series on specific rules and regulations governing financial professions. This article will analyze FINRA Rule 2111, which establishes an advisor’s duty to recommend investments that are suitable for his or her customers. Rule 2111 – Suitability (a) A member or an associated person must have a reasonable basis …
Continue reading “Regulatory Analysis: FINRA Rule 2111 – Suitability”
It has now been almost two months since the Court of Justice for the European Union (the “CJEU”) issued Diarra.[1] The decision held that portions of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the “RSTP”) were inconsistent with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (the “EU Treaty”). In effect, the offending …
Continue reading “After Diarra: Q&A on the New Transfer Market”
Earlier this month, the Court of Justice for the European Union (the “CJEU”), issued its long-awaited judgment in Diarra[1] – a case that targets the core of FIFA’s transfer system. As expected, subject to confirmation by the lower court, the CJEU struck portions of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the “RSTP”) …
On October 4, the Court of Justice for the European Union (“CJEU”) will announce its decision in FIFA v. BZ (“Diarra”). Technically, the court will determine whether FIFA’s rules punishing clubs for signing players who break their previous contracts comply with European Union law. But if the CJEU answers this question in the negative, its ruling …
Continue reading “The Chain Reaction that could Upend FIFA’s Transfer System”
Article 19 of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players blocks international transfers of players under 18, except in five limited circumstances. One of those is exception (c), which allows the transfer if (1) the player lives within 50 km of a national border, (2) the new club is located within 50 km …
A club’s benefit from solidarity depends on its size – the smaller the club, the more important the payments. Two years ago, I used Sweden’s IF Bromma, then a second-tier side, to illustrate the point. Consistently, Bromma made about €40-45k in solidarity each season (two windows). In the 2021-2022 season (I am using fall-spring, even …
Earlier this year, FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber decided two cases that may complicate MLS’ life. In each case, a DRC panel ruled the league must pay solidarity when one MLS team transfers a player to another MLS team for general allocation money (“GAM”) – a currency that only exists within the league. This could force …
Continue reading “Foreign Clubs Turn MLS Money into Real Money”
From start to finish, Chelsea drove the story of 2023’s winter transfer window. Like many a good story, this one was well-organized. It began in north, where Chelsea spent €12M to purchase emerging striker David Datro Fofana from Norway’s Molde and flowed downstream to its conclusion in the south, where they handed Benfica €121M for …
Continue reading “David Datro Fofana: From Abidjan to Chelsea and the Fight In Between”
Terry Brennan Law 