Ashurst Perkins Coie has successfully represented FIFA before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a landmark ruling concerning the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), reinforcing the governing body's authority to regulate football agents within the international transfer system.
In its judgment, the ECJ upheld the core provisions of the FFAR, including the introduction of a mandatory licensing regime for football agents, caps on agent service fees and conflict of interest rules that restrict agents from representing multiple parties in the same transfer transaction. The Court also dismissed claims that FIFA lacked the authority to regulate agent activities or that the regulations constituted anti-competitive conduct between football clubs.
The ruling represents a significant endorsement of FIFA's efforts to modernise football governance and strengthen the integrity and operation of the global player transfer system, while confirming that EU competition law does not prevent sports governing bodies from adopting proportionate regulatory measures.
The Ashurst Perkins Coie team representing FIFA was led by Denis Waelbroeck, Donald Slater and Peter Turner-Kerr, with support from Raphael Dionis. The firm worked alongside Hengeler Mueller and Benoit Keane Legal during the proceedings before the ECJ.