A mass claim being brought in the Dutch courts against football’s world governing body FIFA is set to trigger the biggest overhaul of the sport’s transfer rules in 30 years.
The organisation Justice for Players is preparing a lawsuit under the Netherlands’ collective action laws on behalf of some 100,000 players over a 23-year-period, which is expected to trigger billions of euros in compensation payments.
It follows a case brought by Lassana Diarra, a former France international player, who took FIFA to court when its rules prevented him from joining Belgian club Charleroi from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2015.
The case ended up being referred to the European Union’s Court of Justice, which ruled in October last year that FIFA’s transfer regulations breached the player’s rights to freedom of movement under EU law.
Lucia Melcherts, chair of Justice for Players, told Dutch News that the onus was now on FIFA to reform the system and compensate players for lost earnings since the current rules were introduced in 2002.
The group has filed its claim with the Midden-Nederland district court under the Dutch Mass Claims Settlement Act (WAMCA) against FIFA and nine European national football associations, including France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Discussions have begun to settle the case, but Melcherts said the group was ready to go to court if necessary. “We have had exploratory talks, but if they don’t lead to something constructive in the first quarter of 2026, we plan to issue a summons that will set out our demands and calculations in detail,” she said.
“The European Court of Justice has determined that the rules are unfair. That is settled law. I hope FIFA accepts our offer to sit down at the table with experts and find a good way to resolve this.”
The Diarra ruling is the biggest challenge to the sport’s transfer market since the Bosman judgment in 1995, which abolished transfer fees for out-of-contract players and led to an explosion in wages, particularly at the top end of the pay scale.
The financial implications are huge. A study by economic consultancy firm Compass Lexecon, commissioned by Justice for Players in the wake of the ruling, concluded that players had lost out on around 8% of their potential earnings on average as a result of FIFA’s restrictive transfer rules.
The total bill is likely to run into billions. “It’s a huge sum, but on the other hand, the damage has been inflicted across the 27 EU member states for years,” Melcherts said.
“Footballers are employees and employees have freedom of movement. But in this case the transfer fees, the compensation [for breach of contract] and the percentages that are demanded are extremely high, which goes against the principle that if an employee wants to change jobs, they should be free to do so.”
Premier league
The case also affects the English Premier League, Europe’s richest football competition, since Britain was a member of the European Union until the end of 2020.
Diarra, who also played for Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid, and won 34 caps for France, is claiming €65 million from the Belgian FA and FIFA in a separate action for loss of earnings throughout his career from 2004 to 2019, which included spells with Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
The French international took the Belgian football association URBSFA and FIFA to court in 2015 when Charleroi withdrew their offer of a contract under pressure from Lokomotiv Moscow, who threatened to sue under FIFA’s anti-poaching rules.
Diarra never played for Charleroi as a result. Instead, FIFA ordered the player to pay the Russian club €10.5 million in damages for breach of contract and suspended him from professional football for 15 months, a decision that was upheld by the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.
Not just superstars
But Melcherts stressed that it is not only the superstars who have been affected. While top players such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland command annual salaries of more than €30 million, a 2016 global study on behalf of international players’ union FIFPro found that 45% of male footballers earned less than €11,000 a year.
“We have a whole bunch of footballers in the same situation as Diarra, which is why we’ve started a mass claim on their behalf, asking FIFA to change the rules and pay compensation,” she explained.
Sports lawyers have said that the upheaval could be exploited by players and their agents during contract negotiations.
Simon Leaf, a partner at London firm Mischcon de Reya, told City AM it was “likely to lead to more disputes between clubs and players arising, as players may be emboldened when it comes to trying to force a transfer to take place.”
Clearer contract
But Melcherts argued that clearer contract terms would reduce the risk of escalating disputes such as the row between Liverpool and their Egyptian striker Mo Salah. Salah was dropped from the squad after giving an interview in which he claimed his relationship with Dutch coach Arne Slot was “broken”.
Salah agreed a new contract with Liverpool in April including an annual salary of around €30 million, but there is speculation the player’s disruptive behaviour may be an attempt to engineer a move to Saudi Arabia, where his potential earnings are several times higher.
“At the moment the amount a player has to play in compensation is highly complex and varies from player to player,” Melcherts said. “That makes It even more important to have clarity so that players know from the outset what’s going to happen and where they stand, because at the moment it’s so unpredictable.”
Rule changes
FIFA has made some changes to its transfer rules since the Diarra ruling, introducing the concept of a “just cause” setting out the grounds on which players can leave their clubs before the end of the contract if there is a dispute.
But the players’ union FIFPro has criticised the new rules as too restrictive and says they have been imposed without a proper consultative process.
“It’s a small change, but we’re not satisfied with it,” Melcherts said. “We need to come up with a system of rules that is generated by all parties working together, not imposed by one side.”
Justice for Players has set up an anonymous registration mechanism for current and former players to join the class action. So far a few hundred have signed up, but Melcherts says others may have concerns about the impact on their careers.
“Players don’t have to worry that FIFA will blacklist them somehow,” she said. “It’s totally anonymous. We need to show to the court that there is a real problem that affects footballers, and that we are representative and competent to bring the case.
“In principle it applies to all footballers: those who earn a lot and those who don’t earn as much. That’s why we’re determined to make sure the transfer rules are fair and just for everyone and they get fair and just compensation for the damage they have suffered.”
