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Latest FL Journal Articles
28
Nov
2025
Application of Annex 7 RSTP in Light of Alleged Renewed Force Majeure - By Georgi GRADEV & Yavor PETKOV
CAS 2024/A/10491 Mathias Antonsen Normann v. FC Dynamo Moscow; CAS 2024/A/10492 FC Dynamo Moscow JSC v. Mathias Antonsen Normann & Al Raed; CAS 2024/A/10493 Al Raed Sport Club v. FC Dynamo Moscow
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, though tense and unstable, does not constitute an unforeseeable or fundamental change, as it was already ongoing at the time of signing and its risks were known and consciously accepted by the Player.
CAS 2024/A/10491 Mathias Antonsen Normann v. FC Dynamo Moscow; CAS 2024/A/10492 FC Dynamo Moscow JSC v. Mathia...
28
Nov
2025
Validity of Sell-On Clauses In the Case of Amateur Players - By Georgi GRADEV & Kaloyan STEFANOV
CAS 2024/A/10839 PFC Botev Plovdiv v. Club Centre de Formation National de Football
A sell-on clause remains enforceable even when the player was an amateur at the time of transfer. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed that such agreements are valid under Swiss contract law and the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, emphasizing party autonomy and the imputation of knowledge to a club thr...
28
Nov
2025
28
Nov
2025
Structured Finance in Italian Football - By Federico VENTURI FERRIOLO, Davide VALLI, Luca Alfonso LIBERTI & Nicolò PERI
Regulating Finance in Italian Football
The Italian model of sports governance is increasingly called upon to address complex regulatory challenges related to investment activities and structured finance within the football industry.
In recent years, the financial situation of professional football clubs has been critical, with a few cases of...
28
Nov
2025
Corporate Tools after the TPO Ban: How Brazil’s SAF Framework May Enable Lawful Financing for Player Acquisition and Result Distribution - By André RIBEIRO
Abstract
The prohibition of Third-Party Ownership (TPO) and Third-Party Influence (TPI) under Articles 18ter and 18bis of FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) dismantled an entire financing model that had long sustained Brazilian football. Despite its flaws, TPO provided risk-bearing capital for player acquisition in an...
28
Nov
2025
SAFs: The Brazilian Corporate Model for Football Clubs - By Pedro Paulo FRIZZO GONAÇALVES
This article analyses the implementation of the first Brazilian corporate model specific to football clubs, the “Sociedades Anônimas do Futebol” (SAFs). Even though the debate around creating a corporate model for football clubs is not new, the SAF legislation was promulgated only in 2021. In this sense, this article analyses the historical proc...
28
Nov
2025
The Football Players’ Right of Effective Employment - The Player’s Exclusion from the Group Training and B team Inclusion - By João NOGUEIRA DA ROCHA
There is an increasing number of disputes regarding the violation of the right to effective employment or the right of effective occupation. This can be understood as a violation of the player’s personality rights and the practice of workplace harassment.
In Portugal, with regard to football, the right to effective occupation is of particular i...
28
Nov
2025
The Rise of City Leagues in China - By Emily YU
Introduction
Following the economic contraction and the governance crisis of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) in the early 2020s, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, the dissolution of many high-profile Chinese Super League clubs, the corruption scandal surrounding the previous President of the CFA and the previous head coach of...
28
Nov
2025
A-League club Western United FC licence suspended: An Overview of the Regulatory and Legal Challenges - By Peter PALEOLOGOS
In September 2025, Western United Football Club’s (Western United) club operation licence was suspended by the Australian A-League governing body, namely the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The effect of this suspension or hibernation by the APL decision, for Western United not to participate in the current A-League season, has sent shock...
28
Nov
2025
The Right of First Refusal in Football Transfers: Legal Framework in Light of Kerem Aktürkoğlu’s Transfer from Benfica to Fenerbahçe - By Emin OZKURT
Introduction
The summer transfer of Turkish international Kerem Aktürkoğlu from SL Benfica to Fenerbahçe SK has drawn attention not only for sporting reasons but also for its legal intricacies. After protracted negotiations, Fenerbahçe finalized the signing of Aktürkoğlu, a move widely celebrated by their supporters. However, it soon emerged th...
28
Nov
2025
A System on Trial: The Failed Indian Super League Tender and the Legal Reckoning of Indian Football - By Deep RAY, Aniket ROUT and Tarun
Introduction
Indian football’s commercial and governance system, built on a 15-year-old deal and kept alive by protracted litigation, reached a critical juncture in November 2025. The All India Football Federation (AIFF), via its “Request for Proposal” (RFP), sought to sell the commercial rights for the Indian SuperLeague (ISL) for the next...
28
Nov
2025
28
Nov
2025
Interview with Datuk Seri Windsor John, AFC General Secretary
Background
Born in 1961, Datuk Seri Windsor John has been a loyal servant of the beautiful game, having witnessed the entire spectrum as a player, coach and administrator.
He was appointed as the General Secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2015 and ever since has been energetically implementing the AFC President H.E. Shaikh...
28
Nov
2025
Diarra’s Saga: Past, Present and Future. A Straightforward Commentary - By Juan de Dios CRESPO PEREZ
Preamble
Diarra’s name is not only that of a football player, as his saga has reached the peak of a Netflix argument and might be as well-known as the likes of Bosman. Nevertheless, do not move so fast and use your brake: this is not a Bosman lookalike. The Belgian player and his lawyers did not ignore some FIFA regulations; rather, they used E...
28
Nov
2025
The Oceania Professional League – A Licensing and Regulatory Update - By Peter PALEOLOGOS
Oceania was always seen as a small FIFA Confederation that never really had a significant profile in international football. However, for those who know the region, there are a huge number of talented Pacific Island players who have never had the professional playing platform or stage to showcase their abilities. However, after substantial FIFA...
28
Nov
2025
No Administration, No Force Majeure - By Aspa SOULOUKOU
Civil Court of Athens, 11 June 2025, no. 182/2025
The lack of an administration in a football club shall not be considered as a force majeure event that could lead to the non-application of the two-year deadline.
28
Nov
2025
Greek Supreme Court Limits Ministerial Order to Natural-Person Agents - By Aspa SOULOUKOU
Supreme Court of Greece, 23 April 2025, no. 701/2025
The Supreme Court clarified that Greek Ministerial Order no. 237/2002 applies exclusively to agents acting as natural persons and does not extend to agents operating as legal persons.
28
Nov
2025
Supreme Court Confirms Agent’s Right to Payment - By Aspa SOULOUKOU
Supreme Court of Greece, 31 October 2025, no. 837/2024
A foreign FIFA agent acting as legal person (Agent) and the Greek football club Olympiacos FC signed a private agreement dated 8 July 2008 for the Agent’s services provided to Olympiacos FC regarding the signing of an employment contract of a football player. On 17 September 2008, the parties signed a new private agreement by which they cancelle...
28
Nov
2025
“Shenxin FC v. Shenhua FC”: A Landmark Case of Judicial Review on Arbitration by the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China - By Roy CHU and David WU
On 16 January 2024, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China released ten typical cases of judicial review of arbitration. Case no. 4, Shanghai Shenxin FC v. Shanghai Shenhua FC, concerns a contractual dispute between two professional football clubs. The case marks the first time, since the 2022 revision of the Sports Law of...
28
Nov
2025
The Supervision of Bayern Supporters Traveling by Bus to the Parc des Princes was Justified
Paris Administrative Court, Order, 4 November 2025, no. 2531985
The announced presence of visiting supporters identified as “high risk” at the match between two clubs, combined with the long-standing rivalry between the two teams’ supporters, with clashes and brawls, indicated a risk of serious public disorder on the day of the match. Under these circumstances, and given that these high-risk supporters plann...
28
Nov
2025
Adrien Rabiot Obtains the Reclassification of his Successive Fixed-Term Contracts with PSG into a Contract of an Indefinite Duration
Paris Court of Appeal, 19 June 2025, no. 22/01925, Adrien Rabiot
Not subject to the transitional provisions of the Law of 27 November 2015 (enshrining the specific fixed-term contract), fixed-term contracts concluded from 2014 onwards between Paris Saint-Germain and its former player are governed by national standard labor law regulations, which makes the use of fixed-term contracts conditional on proof of th...
28
Nov
2025
"FIFPRO believes that the ruling should significantly improve players’ freedom to negotiate or terminate their contracts” - Interview with Alexandra GOMEZ BRUINEWOUD
Interview with Alexandra Gomez Bruinewoud, FIFPRO Legal Director
28
Nov
2025
28
Nov
2025
Betting Scandal within the Turkish Football Federation: An Unprecedented Investigation Involving Referees, the Club Presidents and Football Players - By Emin OZKURT
On 27 October 2025, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), held a press conference to unveil remarkable findings concerning the involvement of professional referees in betting activities.
According to the data presented, 571 active referees are officiating across Türkiye’s professional divisions - the Süper L...
28
Nov
2025
After Diarra: A New Landscape for Football Agents - By Roberto BRANCO MARTINS
The ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (the Court) of 4 October 2024 (Diarra) marks a significant turning point in how the international football labour market is managed and operates. The ruling not only alters procedural aspects of the current Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), it also fundamentally alters the prin...