Jean-Marc Bosman was a player for RFC Liège in the Belgian First Division in Belgium whose contract had expired in 1990. Bosman’s wages were reduced as he was no longer a first-team player. He took his case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and sued for restraint of trade.
About Bosman ruling in brief
Jean-Marc Bosman was a player for RFC Liège in the Belgian First Division in Belgium whose contract had expired in 1990. He wanted to change teams and move to Dunkerque, a French club. Bosman’s wages were reduced as he was no longer a first-team player. He took his case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and sued for restraint of trade, citing FIFA’s rules regarding football. On 15 December 1995, the court ruled the system, as it was constituted, placed a restriction on the free movement of workers and was prohibited by Article 39 of the EC Treaty of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The decision banned restrictions on foreign EU players within national leagues and allowed players in the EU to move to another club at the end of a contract without a transfer fee being paid. The ruling was made in a consolidation of three separate legal cases, all involving Belgian player Jean- Marc Bosman. The court ruled that Bosman and all other EU footballers were given the right to a free transfer at the expiration of their contracts, provided that they transfer from a club within one EU association to another EU association. The rules in issue in the main proceedings apply also to transfers of players between clubs belonging to different national associations within the same Member State and that similar rules govern transfers between clubs belong to the same national association.
Mr Bosman, as has been pointed out by the Danish Government and Advocate General in points 209 and 210 of his Opinion, is likely to be affected by the rules likely to restrict the freedom of movement of players, even after the expiry of contracts with those clubs. Since they provide 100 per cent that a professional footballer not pursue his activity with a new club established in another Member State unless it has agreed upon a transfer fees or determined in accordance with the sporting regulations of the two clubs, the rules may be an obstacle to his freedom to move. As the national court has rightly pointed out that the transfer rules may not affect the relationship between clubs, it may be found that the rules are not affected by that finding, as the court rightly said that the business relationship between the clubs is not affected. The Court has also stated, in Case 8187 The Queen v HM Treasury and Commissioners of Inland Revenue ex parte Daily Mail and General Trust plc ECR 5483, paragraph 16, that even though the Treaty provisions relating to freedom of establishment are directed mainly to ensuring that foreign nationals and companies are treated in the host Member State in the same way as nationals of that State, they also prohibit the Member State of origin from hindering the establishment.
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This page is based on the article Bosman ruling published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 24, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
