AS FIFA TIGHTENS SCREWS, CLUBS FACE ... BAN FOR ‘POACHING’ CONTRACTED PLAYERS

MBABANE – Ahead of the January transfer window, FIFA has announced a one-season ban for any club that lures players to terminate contracts with their current clubs.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) says if a contract is terminated without valid cause, the affected club will receive compensation, provided it can prove that the buying club induced the player to break the agreement. In such cases, the player could be suspended for up to six months, while the buying club would face a ban on signing players during the next two transfer windows. Over the years, suspensions related to player signings have often been due to clubs’ failure to pay players’ salaries.

The international governing body stated before Christmas that these measures will only apply to the final 2024/25 season transfer period, which opens in four days’ time, while it is working on a definitive solution. After this phase, FIFA will resume negotiations with football stakeholders to design a final regulation that respects the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which demands the free movement of professional footballers.

It is worth noting that FIFA has decided to temporarily adapt regulations on player transfers as a result of the Lassana Diarra case. Diarra signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in August 2013. However, the relationship between him and the club deteriorated over time, particularly after a salary reduction led him to seek an exit from the club before the contract’s expiration. In 2014, Diarra left Lokomotiv just one year into his contract. The club responded by terminating his contract, citing a breach of contract due to his departure without ‘just cause’.

Damages

This led Lokomotiv to take the matter to FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, where they sought damages from Diarra. The player counterclaimed against the club, arguing that the termination was unjust. The case escalated through various legal channels, reaching the ECJ, which ruled on the compatibility of FIFA’s transfer rules with EU law. FIFA aims to maintain a uniform framework worldwide after losing the lawsuit against Diarra, last year. Additionally, FIFA has granted greater flexibility to national jurisdictions, allowing potential conflicts to be resolved through collective agreements applicable in each country. FIFA will only intervene in exceptional cases.

Notably, the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Football Compliance Manual also lays down a blueprint for approaching players. It urges clubs to act ethically in respect of the transfer and registration of players and officials with other clubs and not to discriminate against or intimidate players and officials registered under the league. Section 4.3(3) of the status, registration and transfer of players states: “Refrain from poaching contracted players with more than six months remaining, unless written permission has been granted by the member club to which the player is contracted.”

Termination

Meanwhile, the unilateral termination of a football player’s contract is mainly regulated in FIFA’s transfer regulations. Some of the reasons cited for a player to terminate a contract include just cause. If a player terminates his contract with just cause, this may be due to the club’s unilateral decision to reduce or not pay salaries. A player becomes free to sign for another club, and his former club will be liable to pay him compensation.

Non-payment of players’ wages for two months can eventually empower the player to leave under a free agent status. It is worth noting that when a football club wants a player who is still contracted with another club, it can get him or her through purchase.  The interested club must first approach the player’s current club to express their interest. This ensures that the current club is aware of the potential transfer and can negotiate terms. If the current club is open to selling the player, both clubs will negotiate a transfer fee. A local football player representative, on condition of anonymity, never ruled out a possibility of using unorthodox methods of poaching players.

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