Football legal
  • Authors
  • About
  • Subscription
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Linkedin
    Twitter
Football-legal
11
Sep
2023
content image
David JACOTOT
FIFA
Article
France International

Football Transfers, Employment Contracts and "Loft": When Football’s Financial Business Seeks Out For Regulation (Part 2)


When a club talks about the prejudice of not being able to “sell a player” while the player is only asking to be allowed to fulfill his contract to the end, we see the clash of two points of view: the (economic) logic of football transfers and the (legal) logic of labor law. Can market logic bend the labor law? This complex question deserves an answer, as unprepared players could face an unchallenged transfer market to the detriment of their rights and freedoms. David Jacotot, French Professor of Law, tries to answer these “deadlocked” situations from the point of view of French labor law.

From a legal point of view, in France, can players - who continue to perform their employment contract until the end of their term - be legally forced by their employing club to sign a new contract to preserve the potential payment of a transfer fee?

The renewal or succession of fixed-term employment contracts is legally possible. Article L. 222-2-4 of the French Sports Code states: “In order to ensure the protection of professional athletes and coaches and to guarantee the fairness of competitions, the maximum duration mentioned in the penultimate paragraph of the present article (5 years) does not exclude the renewal of the contract or the conclusion of a new contract with the same employer”.

However, there is no doubt...

Why not join us?

Football Legal is an independent media publishing football law contents on a daily basis dedicated to all football law practitioners (lawyers, clubs, federations, intermediaries, football stakeholders, etc.).

Register today and stay tuned to the latest legal news.

Get started
Comments
Premium access
Topics
  • FIFA
  • Governance
  • Player/Coach Contract
Related Regulation(s)
  • FIFA RSTP - Ed March 2023
Keywords
  • French Football Federation (FFF)
  • French Professional Football League (LFP)
  • Breach of contract
  • Contractual stability
  • FIFA Regulations
  • National Courts
  • National Law
  • National Regulations
  • Player contract
  • Player transfer
  • Termination clause/agreement
Find out more
  • Football Transfers, Employment Contracts and "Loft": When Football’s Financial Business Seeks Out For Regulation (Part 1)
Authored by
David JACOTOT
About David JACOTOT
Contact us | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookies policy
© football-legal.com 2025 - All rights reserved