The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced that it is organizing a comprehensive dialogue in the coming days about the player transfer system at the global level, including the main actors in the football system, and the focus will be primarily on Article 17 of the regulations related to the status and transfer of players.
FIFA said, in a statement, that this step came against the backdrop of the decision of the European Court of Justice regarding the case of former French player Lassana Diarra with his former club Lokomotiv Moscow, and it is in line with FIFA’s strategic goal of moving forward in improving the transfer system, which Significant progress has been made since 2016.
The statement indicated that FIFA will, in the coming days, invite actors to comment on Article 17 of the regulations relating to the status and transfer of players (consequences of terminating a contract without just cause), and then propose ideas related to it with the aim of unifying proposals and determining the best way forward.
Emilio Garcia Silvero, Head of FIFA’s Legal and Compliance Department, said: “FIFA looks forward to continuing to develop its regulatory framework further, taking into account the views and comments of all interested and relevant parties, as FIFA believes in the decision issued regarding… The Diarra case is an opportunity to further modernize its regulatory framework, which has been among the stated goals of the FIFA President since 2016.”
He added: “FIFA will initiate a comprehensive dialogue with the main actors from various parts of the world, to determine with them the conclusions that must be drawn from the decision issued regarding the Diarra case, and the most appropriate and appropriate changes that could occur to Article 17 of the regulations relating to the status of players.” And their transfer.” It is noteworthy that the Lassana Diarra issue, which has become the face of many disputes between professional football players and their clubs, was raised years ago, when the French international player at the time was playing for the Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow (2013-2014 season).
After the end of that season, a major crisis broke out between the player and the club, the first spark of which was Diarra’s delay in joining training, which prompted the club to file a complaint with FIFA, asking him to search for another club before terminating his contract on August 22, 2014.
In the summer of that year, Lokomotiv Moscow claimed that it was the player who had terminated his contract, so the case reached the corridors of FIFA on charges of violating the laws contained in the player’s contract, and turned into one of the largest urgent football cases at the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), calling for a review of the player transfer system. And amending it to allow a greater margin of freedom for the player to move from one club to another.