WRITTEN QUESTION P-4077/00

by Mario Mantovani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 December 2000)

Subject: Football transfers

In 1998 the Commission condemned the football transfer system in force in the EU on the grounds that it breached Community rules on the free movement of persons and on competition.

The Commission asked UEFA and FIFA, as well as the main associations and clubs concerned (professional football associations, European league committees, etc.) to put forward proposals.

On 31 October FIFA and UEFA put forward their proposals and undertook to negotiate a final settlement of the question with the Commission by the end of the year to enable the Community Treaty provisions on free movement of workers to accommodate the special requirements of the world of football, as laid down also in the declaration on the specific characteristics of sport by the Nice European Council.

Commissioner Reding has already announced that she does not intend to dismantle the existing transfer system and that the Commission is willing to respect the autonomy of professional football, by agreeing that compensation should be paid for contracts and laying down rules limiting transfers to fixed periods.

While welcoming the fact that the Commission has recognised the problem and is trying to resolve it, it must be said that this plan would nevertheless have serious drawbacks, since it would be likely to prompt players and clubs to abuse the practice of cancelling contracts. In such cases, surely it would be wrong, for example, for a player to move from one club to another solely on the basis of financial agreement?

This would have devastating effects not only on the world of football, but also on its role in the education and development of young people. Think of the adverse effects, for example, of a constant merry-go-round of transfers where players played for various different teams in the course of the same season. This damaging practice would also be copied by players and clubs from the lower divisions. Will the Commission provide the latest details on the negotiations under way between the Commission and FIFA and UEFA and on any progress made, bearing in mind that the practice of cancelling contracts could become a dangerous instrument undermining the efforts to accommodate the specific characteristics of football and the specific characteristics of sport in general, as recognised at the Nice European Council?

Will the Commission conclude the negotiations within the deadlines set and find a rapid solution to this problem so as to avoid damaging football's institutions?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2001)

The issue of transfers is currently the subject of a procedure before the Commission under Community competition law. As the Commission must observe the rules of confidentiality governing this type of procedure in order to respect the rights of the parties directly concerned, it cannot provide the Honourable Member with the information requested.

Nevertheless, the Commission would like to draw the Honourable Member's attention to the following general principles to help to clarify the approach taken.

Firstly, the Commission indicated its commitment to sport in the Helsinki report on sport which was adopted in December 1999. The Commission is fully aware of the specific nature of sporting activity and, in particular, of its social and educational role. At the same time, the Commission, as guardian of the EC Treaty, is obliged to deal with the complaints which are referred to it. This is what happened in the case of transfers, when the plaintiffs challenged the traditional rules of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on the basis of Community law relating to competition and the free movement of persons. The Commission had to examine the provisions in question.

Secondly, the Commission does not wish to impose a transfer system on professional football, nor does it have the power to do so. Its role is quite simply to ensure that the transfer system complies with Community law. Subject to this, the Commission respects the sporting world's autonomy in drawing up its own rules.

Finally, the Commission hopes that the solution reached is not only in compliance with Community law, but also in the best interests of football and all those involved in it.

With this in mind, the Commission is currently analysing the proposals received on 31 October 2000 on reforming the transfer system. The areas under discussion include the procedures for terminating contracts. The Commission believes that in this as in many other areas it is important to reconcile the needs specific to the organisation of sporting competitions with respect for the basic principles of Community law.