In 2015, the Zebras were interested in Makélélé's heir to the Blues. A transfer that will never see the light of day for legal reasons. A blow in the water which could today shake up the transfer market. Explanations.
The context
The story begins far from Mambourg. To understand what is happening in 2024, we have to go back to 2014/2015. At the time, Lassana Diarra was under contract with Lokomotiv Moscow. A year after his signing, the Muscovites chose to lower his salary for no particular reason. The player is looking to leave. Ultimately, the middle contract is broken by its training.
The Russian club is not sitting idly by and is demanding 20 million euros from the Frenchman, claiming that he has no longer fulfilled his contract. He is attacking it before the FIFA Disputes Chamber and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). A trial that will last for a very long time.
Without an employer, Lassana Diarra is looking to find a new job. Problem: the acquiring clubs are afraid. The reason is relatively simple, they fear having to jointly help Lassana Diarra to pay this compensation.
To find out whether a club must pay a sum of money or not, you need to delve into the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. It is article 17 which sets the legal framework relating to the consequences of a breach of contract without “just cause”. Concretely, this article protects clubs from unilateral breaches of contract.
The rules are clear: “If a professional player is required to pay compensation, the professional player and his new club will be jointly and severally liable for payment thereof. The amount may be stipulated in the contract or agreed between the parties”.
And Belgium in all this?
When the contract of the man nicknamed Lass' was terminated, several clubs saw it as a golden opportunity. If his career is slipping, the CV of the Parisian by birth no longer needs to be demonstrated. Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid… the player has experience that could help many clubs. In 2015, RSC Charleroi is as fearful as the rest of the pack. But the club took its chance and sent a commitment letter on February 19. “Charleroi's offer represented a unique opportunity to get back in the saddle by being able to play the last matches of the 2014-2015 season (…) and show all potential employers that, on the one hand, he had lost none of his sporting qualities and that, on the other hand, a club wishing to hire him could do so without legal risk. explains the player's lawyer in court.
The Mambourg club is hot, but still poses a fairly logical suspensive condition: not to be responsible for any compensation to be paid to Lokomotiv Moscow. The Diarra clan cannot assure him of this. The Zebras withdraw their offer and Diarra will remain inactive for fifteen months.
Once this chapter is over, the dispute resolution chamber orders Lassana Diarra to pay 10.5 million euros to his former club. On the other hand, he receives authorization to seek a new challenge to resume his career. He will finally find the right match for him on the side of the mythical Olympic Marseille.
Sportingly, the player's career is therefore relaunched. There is no question of him letting it happen on a legal level. To put it simply, the Frenchman is claiming 6 million euros in damages from FIFA (since it is FIFA which sets the rules) and from the Belgian Union by applying to the Hainaut commercial court. The legal debate will go all the way to the Mons Court of Appeal, which does not have jurisdiction to judge this case. The file finally arrives at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Lassana Diarra demands 6 million euros from FIFA and the Belgian Union
What's happening today?
A hearing took place in January on the CJEU side. To summarize, FIFA believes that this regulation ensures a certain “contractual stability” And “respect for obligations entered into by both players and clubs”. On the other hand, Lassana Diarra assures that it goes against the right to free movement of the European Union.
This Tuesday, Advocate General Szpunar of the CJEU gave his verdict on this case. “These provisions are likely to discourage and dissuade clubs from hiring the player for fear of a financial risk. The sporting sanctions faced by the clubs hiring the player can effectively prevent a player from exercising his profession in a club located in another Member State (…) In doing so, the RSTJ, by limiting the ability of clubs to recruit players, necessarily affects competition between clubs in the market for the acquisition of professional players”, he summarizes in his conclusions to the Court. In other words, it follows the player's version.
Lassana Diarra wins his case against FIFA and the Belgian Union, the UB examines the decision
What could this change in the future?
The general counsel therefore follows the player's version. But in practice, what could this change? To put it simply, the entire transfer market would be turned upside down. If the CJEU follows this opinion, players could, for example, terminate their employment contract without fear of being legally stuck.
For some observers, it would therefore be a “Bosman 2.0”. For Martin Hissel, one of Lassana Diarra's two lawyers, it would go even further. “The Bosman ruling put an end to transfer compensation in the case of a free player”, he began on RMC Sports. “Here, it is the possibility for players to leave their clubs during the course of their contract which is made possible. It will reach a much wider segment of players. The player under contract, as in all economic sectors, can leave his company. In the world of football, it's quite the opposite. We give them power which, in our eyes, legitimately belongs to them.”
