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What was the Bosman ruling? The one minute guide

Updated Friday, 25 September 2015
A really, really quick explanation of the 1996 European Court of Justice Ruling on the Bosman case, and how it applies to football.

This page was published over 8 years ago. Please be aware that due to the passage of time, the information provided on this page may be out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and any views or opinions expressed may no longer be relevant. Some technical elements such as audio-visual and interactive media may no longer work. For more detail, see how we deal with older content.

Square image of a Subuteo referee placed next to a broken subuteo player lying on the floor in blue kit. The back ground is green and there is black writing with a yellow highlight saying: Jean-Marc Bosman's contract with RFC Liege had expired; they refused to allow him to join Dunkerque without a transfer fee. He took his case to the European Court of Justice.
Subuteo player on a metal rod with a caption of black writing with a yellow highlight saying: The court found in his favour. Since then two principles have applied. One: when out of contract playes move within the EU, their old clubs cannot demand a transfer fee.
Mini robots with cameras for heads are positioned as if celebrating. They are white and grey and some have blue on and some have pink on. They appear to be stood on a Subuteo pitch with a yellow goal post in the top left-hand corner.

Jean Marc Bosman's contract with Belgian club Liege was finished; he wanted to move to French team Dunkerque but Liege demanded a transfer fee. Bosman argued in front of the European Court of Justice that this interfered with his right as an EU citizen to freedom of movement. The court agreed with him - and since then, it has been forbidden for teams to demand transfer fees for out-of-contract players joining clubs within the EU; and for leagues or competitions to impose a limit on the number of players from within the EU in any team.

Images: broken footballer by Guts Gaming CC-BY; table player by Stuart Kerr CC-BY; soccer robots by Linmtheu CC-BY-SA

 

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