Abusive conduct in an employment relationship between a club and a foreign football player - The case of Alberico Barbosa da Silva (Brazil) v. Akwa United FC (Nigeria)

FIFA DRC, 19 February 2020, Player Alberico Barbosa da Silva, Brazil / Akwa United Football Club, Nigeria

Date of the decision: 2020-02-19

The present article will analyze the case of Brazilian football player Alberico Barbosa da Silva (Player), against the Nigerian club Akwa United FC (Club), in order to exemplify some abusive situations that professional football players are subjected to.

Introduction

The number of international football transfers over the years has been increasing. In 2019, the football transfer market reached unprecedented numbers. According to FIFA Global Transfer Market Report 2019 - Men[1], clubs around the world completed 18,042 international transfers, of which 64,3% were related to transfers of players without contract with a club.

These numbers demonstrate that the international football market is not only fed with transfers involving fees. In fact, it is the opposite, which gives to the football’s legal framework certain grounds of complexity.

Despite the fact that the value of transfers reached USD 7,350,000 in 2019 (approx. EUR 6,500,000), most of transfers were related to players who: a) had expired employment...

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