Class Action Against FIFA and EU Football Associations on Behalf of Football Players Launched Today by ‘Justice for Players,’ a Dutch Foundation

The Justice for Players Foundation (“JfP”), a Dutch Foundation has today launched a class action on behalf of professional football players who have been affected by the FIFA Regulations. The claim against FIFA and several national football associations, including the KNVB, the Football Association of the Netherlands, will be filed at the District Court of Midden-Nederland.

“JfP intends to represent all professional footballers who are playing or who have played in clubs in the European member states and the United Kingdom and who have been adversely affected by FIFA’s unlawful rules from 2002 to the present. Preliminary estimates indicate that the number of affected footballers may comprise approximately 100,000 players,” according to a release.

This case is being brought in the Netherlands under the Dutch Act on the Settlement of Mass Damages in Collective Action (WAMCA), which allows this legal action to be launched by JfP on behalf of a large group of professional footballers.

The case has been launched following the CJEU judgment in October 2024 in the case brought by football player Lassana Diarra and FIFPRO Europe/FIFPRO World against FIFA, which found that the FIFA Regulations seriously infringed EU competition law and the right to free movement of workers, making it extremely challenging for a player to terminate their employment contract without just cause. In short, the CJEU ruled that the FIFA Regulations violated two core principles of European law: free movement of workers and fair competition.

By stating unequivocally that FIFA’s rules were unlawful and that those rules caused all players to suffer a financial loss, the CJEU in its judgement gave the green light to a Europe-wide class action. This is a classic follow-on claim, in line with the EU Representative Action Directive, that seeks to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, that FIFA is held to account and that all players receive the compensation that is owed to them.

In particular, the CJEU noted that the FIFA Regulations had the effect of restricting the free movement of workers and competition by:

• establishing unlawful criteria for determining the severance “compensation” a player must pay to their former club;

• allowing the national federation of the former club to withhold the issuance of an International Transfer Certificate (ITC), without which a player cannot play for a new club;

• making the player’s new club automatically jointly and severally liable for the compensation to be paid to the former club and

• allowing FIFA to impose disciplinary sanctions on the player and their new club.

The unlawful FIFA Regulations granted FIFA complete control over how and when players leave their current football clubs and under what conditions, effectively enforcing an extremely restrictive ‘no-poaching agreement’.

A preliminary analysis by economists at Compass Lexecon has estimated that affected professional footballers have earned approximately 8% less over the course of their career than they would have if the FIFA Regulations had not been unlawfully restrictive.

Lucia Melcherts, Chair of the Board Member of Justice for Players, said: “All professional football players have lost a significant amount of earnings due to the unlawful FIFA Regulations. “Justice for Players” is bringing this claim to help achieve justice for footballers and fairness. The past and even current system unduly favours FIFA who has far too much unilateral power. In any other profession, people are allowed to change jobs voluntarily. The same should be true in football, particularly as the average career span of a professional footballer according to a FIFPro study is only 8 years long.”

Franco Baldini, Board Member of Justice for Players, said: “As a former professional footballer, agent and someone who has worked in football in various managerial capacities, I have had first hand experience, in particular with the Mexes case in 2004, of how much control and power FIFA has over the players. So I am very proud to be part of the Foundation “Justice for Players” and to be part of something that could help change the existing system and make football more inclusive and more sustainable.”

Dolf Segaar, Board Member for Justice for Players said: “This claim against FIFA brought by “Justice for Players” is an important and necessary next step that will allow footballers to assert their rights as EU workers and receive compensation from an organisation that for far too long has willingly ignored the rule of EU law. The CJEU ruled in a crystal-clear manner that the FIFA Rules on termination of contracts and transfer were blatant violations of EU competition law and free movement of workers. And the CJEU also made clear that such unlawful rules had caused players to suffer financial losses. Under EU law, victims of such violations are entitled to compensation for the losses they have suffered and that is an important part of what this class action is about.”

Koen Rutten, Partner at Finch Dispute Resolution, said: “For over 20 years, FIFA has enforced unlawful rules at the expense of professional footballers. Finch is supporting “Justice for Players” so that FIFA can be held accountable and ordered to compensate footballers whose earnings have been impacted by these unfair and illegal rules. Not only are we seeking damages for footballers who have been disadvantaged by the rules that mainly benefit FIFA and the football associations, but through this legal action we are seeking changes to the FIFA Rules so that professional players can finally have greater control over their careers.”