November 19 – United Athletes, the Belgian national trade union for professional footballers (United Athletes) has joined the class action against KNVB, FIFA and several national football associations launched by the Justice for Players Foundation (JfP) in August.
The class action, which is open to all players and former players who have been under contract with a member state in the EU or UK, has also recently been joined by the French trade union for professional footballers (UNFP) and the Dutch professional players’ union (VVCS).
The class action has been triggered by the Diarra ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and is based on the loss of earnings that players suffered due to being under contract (from 2002 to today) with an EU or UK club that prevented them from moving to a new club on higher pay.
There is an estimated 100,000 affected players who could join the claim, while calculations show that on average they received 8% less income over the course of their careers.
Lucia Melcherts, chair of Justice for Players, said:“United Athletes’ decision to support the Justice for Players class action marks a further important step forward in ensuring that the rights of professional footballers are upheld under European law. The salaries earnt by players in Belgium, like those across the EU and UK, have been affected by FIFA’s unlawful transfer rules, as confirmed by the European Court of Justice. Our action seeks not only to secure the financial compensation owed to players for the earnings they have lost, but also to bring about lasting reform of the rules…
“We encourage all players who have played for a club in the EU or UK since 2002 to visit www.justiceforplayers.com to join the legal action and play their part in helping to ensure that a fairer system is developed that will benefit the sport as a whole.”
JfP said it is seeking substantive changes to the FIFA transfer rules so that they comply with EU law and reflect European values and principles of free movement.
Dupont-Hissel, who represented Lassana Diarra, is also advising JfP. The legal action is fully funded by Deminor, one of Europe’s leading providers of legal finance, enabling players to join the legal action without having to take any financial risk.
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