Former France and Real Madrid star Lassana Diarra has restarted legal proceedings against FIFA and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) in a bid to win compensation after a court ruled in his favour against the international governing body last year.
Diarra had been locked in a decade-long legal battle with FIFA after he had been ordered to pay £8.8million (10.5 million euros) for his breach of contract at former side Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014.
FIFA also suspended Diarra for 15 months for terminating his own contract at the Russian club, which had stemmed from a dispute over Lokomotiv attempting to reduce his salary on the basis of his performances.
A move to Belgian side Charleroi was then put in jeopardy, with Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) siding with FIFA's initial ban.
Diarra brought fresh legal action in 2015, claiming that he had been prevented from doing his job after FIFA refused to issue him the necessary International Transfer Certificate to register him with the Belgian FA for the Charleroi move to go ahead.
With the deal going south, Diarra argued that this action was in breach of European labour laws, and in October 2024, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled that some of FIFA's rules on player transfers did breach European Union legislation.
As per BBC Sport, Diarra then hoped that FIFA and RBFA would reach out to him to make financial amends and provide an 'amicable settlement', but with no contact forthcoming, the ex-midfielder is now seeking £56m via the courts.
'I have been forced to fight this legal battle since August 2014,' Diarra said in a statement. 'That's more than 11 years.
'I am doing this for myself - but I have also done it for all the up-and-coming, lesser-known players who do not have the financial and psychological means to challenge FIFA before real judges.'
Diarra has also argued that the amendments FIFA have made are not yet in line with the requirements needed as a result of the CJEU ruling.
'Since the ECJ issued its ruling in the Diarra case in October 2024, FIFA has been working with its stakeholders to amend its regulations following the guidance offered by ECJ,' a FIFA statement read.
'FIFA does not comment on on-going legal matters.'
Diarra is supported in his battle by professional footballers' unions FifPro, FifPro Europe, and France's UNFP, as well as Dutch foundation Justice for Players (JfP), who started their own legal action against FIFA earlier this month.
JfP launched a class action lawsuit seeking billions of compensation for players who have featured in the United Kingdom or the European Union and may have potentially missed out on earnings due to current transfer regulations.
The group's action is also directed at football associations in France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
'We stand firmly alongside Mr Diarra,' JfP said on Monday, adding that FIFA's 'temporary changes to the transfer rules... still don't fully comply with EU law'.