The legal and economic aspects of transfers of football players in the European Union

Abstract

The paper presents legal and economic aspects of the transfers of football players. Transfer rules in sports are problematic because they may result in unbalanced competition, social and financial fraud, disproportionate restrictions on the freedom of movement of players, excessive transfer fees and discrimination on the basis of nationality. The aim of the paper is to synthesize relevant knowledge and provide an overview of relevant regulatory framework regarding the player transfers in the European Union. The free movement of people and sports professionals is a key component of player transfers, and in order to confirm this, three prominent cases which shaped the transfer system were studied: the Bosman case, the Lehtonen case, the Bernard case and the Royal Antwerp case. Court ruled that sport is to be included to the list of activities covered by the Community Law as it qualified as an economic activity, particularly where it generates a profit or a paid service. Accomplished legal freedoms of players resulted in accompanying economic benefits, hence paper portrays economic aspects of transfers as well and chronologically analyses transfer market.