Litigator & Counselor
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”
Recently, Major League Soccer has signed several players under age 18 to lengthy (five-to-seven years) professional contracts. While these contract terms exceed the maximum allowed by FIFA for under 18 players, the contracts are likely valid under US laws. This article discusses creative solutions these players may have to free themselves from their long contracts. …
Continue reading “Escape Room: Young MLS Signings and the Contracts that (May) Bind Them”
This article was first posted on March 9, 2018 (on Medium). It has undergone minor edits for clarity. In January 2018, Canadian striker Cyle Larin completed a move from Major League Soccer’s Orlando City to Turkish club Besiktas. Reportedly, Besiktas paid Orlando a transfer fee in the neighborhood of $2.3 million. That was the simple part. The …
The following is another article in my series on third-party influence. Previous articles in the series can be found, here, here, and here. Once again, Article 18bis of FIFA’s RSTP forbids a club from entering into any transaction that may allow the counter-club or a third party to influence “in employment and transfer-related matters …
Continue reading “Notes on Third-Party Influence: Confusion over the Level of Influence Prohibited”
This article is part of a series on FIFA’s enforcement of Article 18bis in its Rules on the Status and Transfer of Players. This rule forbids a club from entering into any transaction that may allow the counter-club or a third party to influence “in employment and transfer-related matters [the club’s] independence, [their] policies or …
Continue reading “Notes on Third-Party Influence: Trying to Insure the Sell-on Fee”
There is a subset of third-party influence cases that turn on a confusing distinction between penalty and bonus clauses. Usually, the debate arises in the context of a loan agreement. Generally-speaking, one club will loan a player to another, with a provision that increases the fee based on how much the player plays. In some …
Continue reading “Notes on Third-Party Influence: Penalties vs. Bonuses”
FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players include two provisions that restrict third-party influence on clubs: Article 18bis, which limits influence from other clubs, and Article 18ter, which limits influence from outside entities. Through FIFA’s enforcement, these two rules have matured into a thick body of law – one that covers almost any …
Continue reading “Notes on Third-Party Influence: Consent and Rivals Clauses”
In the summer of 2019, Roma transferred two players to Spartak Moscow for €3 million each. The first player – well-regarded striker Ezequiel Ponce – was worth at least that much. But the second – reserve team goalkeeper Andrea Romagnoli – was worth far less. At the time, Roma owed a sell-on fee to Argentine …
Continue reading “FIFA Case Note: Newell’s Old Boys v. Roma”
Long-standing precedent from FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber entitles clubs to training compensation for the period they take a player on loan. But the right to compensation does not arise until the parent club transfers the player to a club in another association. In other words, the time with the parent club and the time on …
Continue reading “FIFA Case Note: Udinese v. Paris St. Germain”
Article 19 of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players remains a tough wall to clear. Generally, the rule bars clubs from signing foreign players under age 18, except in three limited circumstances.[1] The most controversial of these is exception (a), which allows the transfer if the player’s parent moved to the new …
Continue reading “The Wrong Kind of Exceptional: Oscar Bobb’s Uselessly Close Article 19 Case”
Terry Brennan Law 