Lassana Diarra seeks €65 million from Fifa and Belgian FA in transfer case

PARIS – Former France international Lassana Diarra is seeking €65 million (S$97 million) from Fifa and the Belgian football association as part of a long-running legal battle, the player’s lawyer announced on Aug 18.

The 40-year-old’s challenge to Fifa prompted world football’s governing body to amend its transfer rules after a landmark legal ruling in 2024, but he has been unable to reach a settlement.

His lawyer Martin Hissel said the claim was for “compensation... (for) damage caused as a result of these Fifa rules” on transfers, which the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled to be contrary to European law in October 2024.

“Following a ruling by the CJEU, in the absence of an amicable solution, the next logical step is to return to the national courts so that they can implement the CJEU ruling,” he said in a statement.

“That is therefore what we are doing now, on the basis of a very clear CJEU ruling that has settled all the key legal points. The Belgian courts should hand down their decisions in 12 to 15 months.”

The CJEU in October found that Fifa rules impede the free movement of players by “imposing considerable legal risks, unforeseeable and potentially very high financial risks as well as major sporting risks on those players and clubs wishing to employ them”, thereby disrupting the transfer system.

At the request of the Belgian courts, the Luxembourg-based CJEU examined the case brought by Diarra, who a decade ago had contested the conditions of his departure from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow.

In August 2014, Lokomotiv Moscow terminated Diarra’s contract citing contractual breaches by the player. The Russian side also sought €20 million compensation from him.

Diarra refused and requested that Lokomotiv pay him compensation, but the midfielder was eventually ordered to pay his former club €10 million by Fifa, a fine that was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Diarra also received a backdated 15-month suspension.

As a result, Belgian club Charleroi ultimately decided not to sign him for fear of having to pay part of these penalties, in accordance with Fifa regulations examined by the CJEU.

Following the CJEU’s ruling, Fifa announced in December it had adopted an “interim regulatory framework” regarding player transfers.

“I waited a few months before restarting the national proceedings in Belgium, thinking that Fifa and the Belgian federation, in particular following Fifpro Europe’s (the European players’ union) efforts to favour an outcome, would at least have the decency to approach me to propose an amicable settlement of the dispute (this was, incidentally, the tone of the messages I received from Fifa),” said Diarra in a statement.

“This was not the case. That is their right, but it reflects a continuing culture of contempt for the rule of law and for players, despite the crystal-clear message sent by the CJEU.

“To my great regret, we will therefore once again have to explain ourselves before the judges, as I have no other choice.”

The move was welcomed by Justice for Players – a foundation aimed at advocating for the interests of professional footballers across Europe.

“We stand firmly alongside Diarra... and we urge all players who have played for an EU or UK club since 2002 to join the class action being brought by Justice for Players to demand real changes to the Fifa rules,” said Lucia Melcherts, the chair of the foundation’s board. AFP