Gianni Infanitno is having a very questionable tenure at FIFA due to his decisions not to question the increase in calendars in Europe and around the world with the expansion of matches in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, as well as the creation of a Club World Cup with many more matches than the previous format. Faced with these challenges, FIFA is now facing a class action lawsuit that could soon change the course of soccer.
Breaking reports indicate that FIFA is dealing with a class action involving its transfer rules, including claims from all professional footballers who have played in the European Union or the United Kingdom since 2002. This is information from the so-called Justice for Players (JfP), a new Amsterdam-based entity with the mission of filing a lawsuit against the world soccer governing body, using the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the Lassana Diarra case.
Lassana Diarra won a decade-long court battle against FIFA and the Belgian Football Federation after the EU ruled that some of FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) were in breach of European competition law. At the time, experts compared this outcome to the famous Jean-Marc Bosman case of 1995, which was responsible for revolutionizing European soccer.
Since the announcement of the final decision in the Lassana Diarra case, everyone has been unanimous in pointing out that there could be direct consequences for the future of soccer. Against this backdrop, Justice for Players represents the first threat to the current structure of world soccer, especially in transfers.
Many believe that the EU's decision has called the entire transfer system into question, exposing FIFA to billions of euros and pounds in compensation. However, other experts believe that the impact of the decision will be more limited, as it has only questioned two elements of the rules: compensation owed to a club when a player unilaterally terminates his contract and the idea that the new club is collectively responsible for the breach. Even so, it's worth keeping an eye on the news surrounding this case.