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Transfer news as current FIFA rules surrounding player moves are under the microscope thanks to Lassana Diarra's decade-long battle with the governing body

FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland(Image: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)

The football transfer market could be on the verge of its most significant overhaul in over 30 years, according to Advocate General Maciej Szpunar of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

He hinted at potential new rules earlier this year with a key hearing set to come to an end soon.

The verdict of former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Lassana Diarra's decade-long case against FIFA, the governing body of world football, is expected later this week.

The CJEU is currently assessing if FIFA's stance was legitimate.

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Hints from the courtroom imply that ITC rules, pivotal to the worldwide transfer mechanism, may be overhauled.

Advocate General Szpunar's remarks in April are quite telling: "There can be little doubt as to the restrictive nature of FIFA's regulation on the status and transfer of players," he said.

"By their very nature, the contested provisions limit the possibility for players to switch clubs," he continued, before noting, "the contested provisions necessarily affect competition between clubs on the market for the acquisition of professional players."

This prompts the question of potential repercussions.

"The consequences of a player terminating a contract without just cause are so draconian that it is highly unlikely that a player will go down this route," Szpunar explains..

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"The contested provisions are designed in such a way as to have a deterrent effect and send a chill down each player's spine." Essentially, the trepidation of contract violations deters players from lodging grievances, thus firmly tethering them to their present teams.

Significant shifts in football's legal landscape could be on the horizon if the present guidelines are deemed unlawful.

Failure to do so could upend the current transfer system.

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"The likely practical outcome of Diarra will be that the transfer system in football, as we know it, will fall," conceded respected sports law figures Robby Houben, Oliver Budzinski, and former CJEU Advocate General Melchior Wathelet last June.

As the football community braces for Friday's key hearing, the only certainty is the profound uncertainty over the implications of altering the transfer model.


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