The Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP), the French national trade union for professional footballers is joining the class action against FIFA and several national football associations launched by the Justice for Players Foundation (JfP) in August.
The class action is open to all players and former players, regardless of their nationality, who have been under contract with a club in an EU Member State or the United Kingdom.
In initiating the legal action, JfP cited preliminary analysis by economists at Compass Lexecon, that professional footballers have earned around 8% less over the course of their careers “due to the unlawfully restrictive FIFA Regulations.”
Lucia Melcherts, The Chair of the Board of the Justice for Players Foundation said that the UNFP’s decision to join JfP as a co-plaintiff against FIFA “is a powerful endorsement of what we are committed to achieving through this legal action for professional footballers, not only past and present but also in the future. Achieving reform of the FIFA transfer system and securing compensation for players is firmly on the horizon.
“The UNFP’s support highlights the growing momentum amongst stakeholders calling for fair, transparent and legally compliant transfer rules, following the European Court of Justice ruling in October 2024 that declared that FIFA regulations have unlawfully restricted players’ freedom of movement and reduced their earnings for over two decades.
We urge all players who have played for an EU or UK club since 2002 to learn more and join the legal action via the justiceforplayers.com website in order to secure the compensation that is owed to them.”
JfP 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, in addition to compensation for players in accordance with the EU judgment on 4 October 2024.
It claims an estimated 100,000 professional football players, men and women, are eligible to join the legal action.
JfP has instructed Netherlands-based law firm Finch Dispute Resolution, which specializes in class actions in the Netherlands to represent it in the class action. Dupont-Hissel, the law firm that is representing Mr. Lassana Diarra, is also advising JfP.
This legal action is fully funded by Deminor, one of Europe’s leading providers of legal finance, so that players will not have to pay to join the legal action or assume the financial risk of this legal action.
UNFP announced that it joined the class action “after a thorough review of the ‘Justice for Players’ initiative, the UNFP Steering Committee unanimously decided to join the class action launched by the Dutch foundation as a co-plaintiff, with two priority objectives:
1. Obtain a lasting reform of the transfer system
The Diarra ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union established the illegality of certain provisions of the FIFA regulations on transfers. This decision calls for a reform that the UNFP considers essential.
We hope that this reform will result from negotiations between social partners, in accordance with European law, and not from unilateral imposition. Social dialogue must become central to the regulation of the labor market for professional footballers.
The UNFP also reaffirms its support for the governance framework of European football. We welcome the progress already made through reforms and dialogue at European level, where FIFPRO Europe’s involvement will continue to ensure that players’ perspectives contribute to building the future of football across the continent.
2. Obtain fair compensation for injured players
The CJEU recognized that players who played in the EU or the UK between 2002 and today have suffered harm as a result of restrictive rules deemed unlawful. The UNFP will ensure that its members and former members receive fair compensation for this damage.
Beyond this procedure, the UNFP remains committed to achieving lasting structural progress. We will continue to prioritize dialogue with all football stakeholders in order to develop balanced solutions for players.”
