The Court of Appeals of Brussels rejects Doyen and Seraing appeal against FIFA’s TPO ban

Appeal Court of Brussels, 18th chamber F, civil affairs, 12 December 2019, no. 2016/AR/2048, Doyen Sports Investments Ltd. & RFC Seraing United et a. v. URBSFA, FIFA, UEFA and FIFPRO

Date of the decision: 2019-12-12

On 12 December 2019, the Court of Appeal of Brussels issued a decision dismissing Doyen Sports and RFC Seraing’s claim to overturn FIFA’s TPO Regulations. The verdict confirmed the validity of FIFA’s ban on third-party ownership (TPO).

Facts/Procedure

On 1 May 2015, FIFA banned the practice of third-party ownership (TPO). Since that time, the Belgian club RFC Seraing (Seraing) and investment fund Doyen Sports (Doyen) have opposed FIFA, UEFA, the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA), and FIFPRO on the legality of this ban.

Seraing was sanctioned by FIFA in September 2015 for this practice (by a fine of EUR 136,000 and a recruitment ban) and contested FIFA’s decision in the civil courts of Belgium, after appealing the sanction imposed by the world’s governing football body before...

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