Fifa is facing a multibillion-pound compensation claim from a group of current and former players following last year's European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling that its transfer rules are unlawful. The Justice for Players foundation, a Dutch group with former England assistant manager Franco Baldini on its board, has served notice of its intention to file a class action against Fifa and the football associations of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.
The foundation is seeking compensation on behalf of players who have lost income due to Fifa's transfer rules since 2002, with the legal case expected to involve about 100,000 players. The claim will be filed in the district court of Midden Nederland, chosen because Dutch law permits claims from anyone who has worked within the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The Football Association is understood to have received a copy of the letter before action, and although not named as a defendant, it could be added later. Fifa and the five domestic associations have been given until September to respond.
The compensation claim stems from the CJEU judgment last October in the case of former Chelsea and France midfielder Lassana Diarra. Diarra sued Fifa after the governing body refused to issue an international transfer certificate (ITC) for him to join Belgian club Charleroi in 2016, following a breach of contract with Lokomotiv Moscow. The CJEU ruled that Fifa's transfer regulations infringed EU competition law and the right to free movement of workers.
The legal letter sent to Fifa references the class action as a multibillion claim, based on independent analysis from economists at Compass Lexecon. They estimate players would have earned about 8% more over their careers since 2002 had the regulations not been unlawfully restrictive. Diarra's lawyer, Jean-Louis Dupont, who also won the landmark Bosman case in 1995, is advising Justice for Players.
