Amendments to the FIFA Regulations

On 26 April 2018, FIFA issued the Circular Letter No. 1625 announcing to its members associations important amendments to the FIFA Regulations which will come into force on 1 June 2018.
The amendments mainly concern the maintenance of contractual stability in employment relationships between players and clubs. Additionally, one new provision aims to improve the efficiency of the existing dispute resolution system.
On the one hand, some innovations are related to the termination of a contract with just cause, such as:
- 1、 Article 14 including a new paragraph, giving the right to one party to terminate a contract with just cause in case it is forced by the other party to terminate or amend the terms of a contract;
- 2、 Article 14bis newly introduced, establishing a new scenario for termination of the contract by the player with just cause in case of unpaid salaries.
On the other hand, the most significant change to the regulations concerns Article 17, explaining the method for calculation of the compensation due to a player, when a club terminates a contract without just cause. The method may vary depending on whether the player signed a new employment contract or not with another club after the termination of the contract and prior the decision rendered by FIFA. Additionally, in some particular cases the player shall be entitled to an additional compensation from three up to six months salaries, without never exceeding the remaining value of the prematurely terminated contract.
Moreover, Article 18 establishes the prohibition of the so called “grace periods” for payment of amounts due to players. Nevertheless, such prohibition will not apply to contracts already existing at the time these amendments will come into force i.e. prior 1 June 2018.
Finally, new Article 24bis will grant to FIFA decision-making bodies the power to impose sanctions on players and clubs in case of non-compliance with a monetary decision. The sanctions shall consist for clubs in a ban on registering new players and, for players, in a restriction on playing in official matches.
As mentioned above, these amendments shall represent a significant change in the employment relationship between players and clubs. It will be interesting to see the upcoming jurisprudence of FIFA judicial bodies in the near future, which will give a clear idea on such important innovations.