Football at a Crossroads - Why the Diarra Ruling Marks a Crucial Turning Point for Football

Abstract

The CJEU shook the world of football with its Diarra ruling on Friday, October 4. The impact of the ruling is all but a surprise for me. In a way, the FIFA transfer system was always on shaky legal grounds in terms of EU internal market law. Now, the chickens have come home to roost and key parts of the football transfer system have been brutally set aside. I aim to explain why the Diarra ruling marks a crucial turning point for football, its economy and even its identity.

Keywords

• Bosman
• CJEU
• Diarra
• EU
• FIFA
• RSTP