The case of Lassana Diarra makes FIFA take a step back. In light of the ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union which ruled in favor of the former French player, establishing that certain International Football Federation rules on player transfers violated EU laws , the body led by Gianni Infantino declared itself ready to open a dialogue. World football's governing body has announced its intention to “enter into an in-depth dialogue with key stakeholders”. FIFA intends to review certain regulations and make changes to Article 17 of the relevant rules. “Fifa will work with them to determine the conclusions to be drawn from the Diarra affair and the corresponding modifications to be made to article 17 of the Regulations on the status and transfer of players (Rstj),” explained Emilio Garcia Silvero, director of the Federation. International Legal Division. We will work in particular on the “parameters for calculating compensation and sanctions in the event of breach of contract” and on the “mechanism for issuing the international transfer certificate” which allows players to change clubs.
In the coming days, FIFA will formally invite interested parties to submit ideas in relation to Article 17 of the RTSP (“Consequences of terminating a contract without just cause”). “We want to further develop the regulatory framework, obviously taking into account the opinions and suggestions of all interested parties – underlined García Silvero -. For FIFA, the decision regarding Diarra is an opportunity to continue modernizing the rules.” At odds with his former club, Lokomotiv Moscow, Diarra was fined more than 10 million euros in 2016 for wrongful breach of contract. Whoever wanted to hire Diarra at that time also had to face the sanction. This is based on a point in FIFA rules now contested by the European Court of Justice.
