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 - legally force 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 that...
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