Lassana Diarra has reached a settlement with Fifa and the Belgian Football Association over claims for compensation after his landmark transfer case.
The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and France midfielder had initially demanded €65m from the two bodies, arguing the sum covered damages incurred after he had his contract cancelled by Lokomotiv Moscow, and was subsequently denied a transfer to Charleroi in Belgium in 2014.
Fifa confirmed the outcome on Monday. “Following the global agreement they have reached, Mr Lassana and Fifa have settled all legal proceedings between them,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Fifa has not made any admission of liability nor payment by way of compensation. Fifa will not be providing any further comment at this time.“
Diarra’s claim for compensation was made last year after the seismic ruling by the European Courts of Justice (CJEU) that his freedom of movement had been restrained when the transfer to Charleroi was cancelled. Fifa’s rules in the event of a player’s contract being cancelled were, the court ruled, “contrary to EU law” and led to a reform of the transfer system that is ongoing.
The settlement also comes as a class-action claim against Fifa over its former transfer rules continues to grow. The Justice for Players group, represented by the same lawyers as Diarra, claims the support of at least 15 national players’ unions and says the class action “stems from the Lassana Diarra ruling by the CJEU, in which the highest court in the European Union ruled that Fifa’s rules on contractual stability and player transfers, in force since 2002, had caused damage to all players whose careers had been subject to such rules.”
Diarra’s lawyers have been approached for comment.
