Former France midfielder Lassana Diarra has launched a court case against FIFA and the Royal Belgium Football Association, seeking $76 million in compensation as part of a long-running dispute.
Diarra, now 40, has challenged some of FIFA’s transfer rules following the termination of his contract with Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014. His lawyers cite the “unsuccessful settlement negotiations with FIFA” for the latest compensation claim.
Following his exit from Lokomotiv, Diarra alleges that he was improperly denied an international transfer certificate (ITC) required to move to Charleroi in Belgium. FIFA denied the ITC on the basis that Diarra was found to have broken his contract with Lokomotiv, subsequently fining the player €10 million.
Last October the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in Diarra’s favor on the matter, saying that FIFA’s rules “impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club”.
Diarra’s legal team claim that they have tried to come to an agreement with FIFA but have not been able to finalize a settlement. Now, Diarra is moving to a legal solution.
“I have been forced to fight this legal battle since August 2014. That’s more than 11 years,” Diarra said in a joint media release.
“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.”