Introduction
On 4 October 2024, the European Court of Justice (‘CJEU’) delivered its judgment in Case C‑650/22, FIFA v BZ (‘the Diarra case’) on a reference by a Belgian Court for a preliminary ruling on the compatibility with Articles 45 and 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) of certain provisions of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (‘FIFA’) Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (‘RSTP’). The CJEU found that some aspects of FIFA's transfer rules regarding financial compensation and imposing additional sporting sanctions on both club and player in case of early contract termination without "just cause" are incompatible with the guarantee of freedom of movement and EU competition law.