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The Bosmann Ruling
The situation prior to the Bosman RulingPrior to the Bosman Ruling players who were out of contract still commanded a transfer fee that would be set by their current club and such fee had to be paid before any player registration would be transferred. Additionally, several competitions, including those run by UEFA and several different European Leagues throughout Europe had specific rules on the number of foreign players, or those players from a different EU member state, that were allowed to be fielded by any club during a game.Background to the Bosman Ruling
The word 'Bosman' comes from the Belgium player Jean-Marc Bosman. Bosman was employed as a professional footballer by Belgium club RC Liege. His contract, which expired on 30 June 1990, assured him an average monthly salary of some 120,000 Belgian Francs.In April 1990, RC Liege offered Bosman a new contract for one season on a vastly reduced wage. He refused to sign that contract and was put on the transfer list. Bosman contacted US Dunkerque, a French second-division club, and agreed personal terms with them. RC Liege and US Dunkerque also agreed upon a transfer fee between themselves.
However, both these contracts were conditional on the transfer certificate being sent by the Belgian football federation to the French football federation before 2 August 1990. As RC Liege had doubts about US Dunkerque's solvency they did not ask for the transfer certificate to be issued so neither contract took effect. In addition, RC Liege suspended Bosman on the 31 July 1990, which prevented him from playing for the entire season.Bosman then took his case to the Belgium courts, arguing that the transfer rules and foreign player rules, which were likely to reduce his chances of being signed on in another Member State, were contrary to Community law. Following a series of court proceedings over five years, the case came to the Court of Appeal in Liege, which stayed the proceedings and asked the European Court of Justice to rule on a set of preliminary questions.
These were concerning the compatibility of the transfer rules and foreign player rules with Article 48, 85 and 86 of the Treaty of Rome. Broadly speaking, these guarantee freedom of movement for workers between Member States of the European Union, and ensure fair competition between 'undertakings' within the common market.
What is the Bosman Ruling? The judgement from the European Court of Justice was finally given on 15 December 1995 and became known as the Bosman Ruling. It decreed that the current transfer and foreign player rules were incompatible with the relevant EC law. There are now no restrictions on the number of players from within the EC that are allowed to play for a team. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the Bosman Ruling also now allows a player to move to another club without a transfer fee, providing that his contract at his current club has reached its expiry date.
Bosman specifically won this right for players within the EU (European Union), but as UEFA covers over 60 countries and not just those within the EU, the Bosman Ruling was adopted throughout them all. The Bosman Ruling is also equally applied to transfers between clubs within a single federation i.e. the English Premiership. Now, when a player has just six months left to run on his current contract before it expires, he is allowed to speak freely to, and negotiate a possible transfer with, another club in which he can sign a pre-arranged agreement to join that new club on a free transfer.
The consequences of the Bosman Ruling One consequence of this is that the smaller clubs could end up acting as a good place for the larger clubs to pick up a bargain. They could allow smaller clubs to develop youth players and then snap them up free of charge on the Bosman Ruling once the player's contract had expired. This meant that a number of clubs faced going bankrupt as they depended largely on the receipt of transfer fees from the larger clubs.Another consequence of the Bosman Ruling is to give the player involved an incredible amount of negotiaing power which would have previously been held by his employer/club.
A club could face losing out on possible millions of pounds in transfer income if it allowed the player's contract to expire. Further, a player would have much greater control over which new club he joined - it would no longer depend on an offer being accepted by his current club as the negotiations would be purely between himself and prospective club. This meant that player wages became the significant negotiating tool and as the new club had not had to pay a transfer fee it would have an increased wage budget with which to persuade the player.
An example of a free transfer under the Bosman Ruling is that of Steve McManaman who moved from Liverpool FC to Real Madrid.
Had McManaman still had a contract, Liverpool could probably have demanded a fee of in excess of £10 million. However, because his contract had expired, he was able to move to Real Madrid on a free transfer. He was then able to negotiate a large fee from Real Madrid in wages. It is reported that he earns in excess of £60,000 per week in wages from Real Madrid. A deal that would not have been possible had the Bosman Ruling not existed and he had cost in excess of £10 million.
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