Football talks!

25 years Bosman judgment

On 15 December 1995, the European Court of Justice handed down the 'Bosman ruling'. 

The ruling stated that a club, on expiry of a player's contract, may no longer claim a transfer fee. At that time, the rule was that even when the contract of employment between the player and the club had expired, the player could not simply sign freely with a new club, but could only do so with the consent of, and thus payment to, the old club.

It was also decided that the old rules limiting the number of foreign players was also illegal and therefore had to be adapted for EU nationals.

This judgment did cause a landslide in the world of football. Players were given more power and are in a much stronger negotiating position when their contract threatens to expire, with the direct result that players' wages have risen enormously. The average contract length has also increased at the request of the clubs in order to prevent players from being able to leave after just a few seasons.

Curiously, the transfer fees have also increased. This is an evolution that no connoisseur could have predicted at that time. So, although players can be bought without compensation when their contract ends, there are still a lot of clubs that want to buy off a contract on payment of a huge transfer fee.

The number of foreign players in European competitions has also increased considerably. After all, players can now play freely in any EU country without a quota being imposed.

Whether the current transfer regulations comply with the law is another question. What is certain is that there is still a difference between the way in which contracts are treated in football and the way they are treated in normal business life. After all, in football it is not possible for a player to leave the current employer during the term of the contract, subject to a notice period. Full freedom is therefore still not granted to players, but perhaps this is a price that most players wish to pay in exchange for the nice incomes in the sport. A second Marc Bosman may one day be able to change this.

Tim Smet is a Belgian lawyer specialising in sports law who also acts as an agent for football players.