End Game? The football transfer system

A judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in October 2024 has important implications for FIFA’s football transfer system.  The CJEU ruled that certain aspects of FIFA's transfer rules – whereby players who break their contracts without “just cause” are liable to pay compensation to the club they leave, with their new club jointly and severally liable and also at risk of other sanctions – infringe EU law.  Belgium’s cour d’appel de Mons, which referred the matter to the CJEU, must now apply the judgment.

Angelos Vlazakis and Richard Whish KC discuss this case, including the CJEU’s analysis and conclusions regarding the application of Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which provides for the free movement of workers and Article 101 TFEU which prohibits anti-competitive agreements.  This includes discussion of how the possibility of a public interest justification differs between Article 45 and a “by object” restriction of Article 101.  They also discuss the CJEU’s view that the restrictions correspond to a “no poach” agreement, noting concerns about no poach agreements and other labour market restrictions are a particular area of focus for competition authorities globally at the moment.