By Martin Banks - 17th March 2010
This decision will hopefully have a positive effect on the training of young athletes in the EU
Doris Pack
MEPs have welcomed a key European court ruling that football clubs who train young players only to see them sign their first professional contract with another EU club can now claim compensation.
The European Court of Justice's (ECJ) verdict on Tuesday came in a case involving French player Olivier Bernard, who joined English club Newcastle United in 1997 at the end of a three-year training contract with French side Lyon.
French rules required trainee players to sign their first professional contract with the club that trained them.
But Bernard signed with Newcastle, leading Lyon to take legal action against the player and the club, demanding €53,000 in damages.
The ECJ found that the payment of compensation to a training club was justified.
The court said that the French rule was a restriction on the freedom of movement for workers, including footballers, but said it could be justified under certain circumstances, such as the need to encourage recruitment and training of young professional players.
MEPs were quick to respond to the decision, with UK member Emma McClarkin, sport spokesperson for the ECR group, saying the case "shows that the EU is right to recognise the specificity of sport".
McClarkin said, "The EU should recognise the unique nature of sport and this ruling supports that. In this area, EU rules should not apply to football.
"The majority of the rules surrounding player transfers should be set by the governing bodies who understand their sports.
"Had the court ruled the other way, we could have seen a root-and-branch shake-up of the entire player transfer system.
"This ruling will encourage football clubs to continue investing in young talent without the fear of their cash being used for another club's gain."
Further comment came from German EPP deputy Doris Pack, chair of the committee on culture and education, who also welcomed the decision.
"This decision corresponds to the belief of parliament as pronounced in its resolutions on the white paper on sport and on the future of professional football in Europe that educating and training young athletes is in the interest of our societies and that such training deserves appropriate compensation," she said.
She added, "I am in particular glad to see that the recent inclusion of sport in the Lisbon treaty has helped the court to argue in favour of the specific characteristics of sport and its important social and educational function, thereby justifying compensation schemes for the training of young players.
"European football needs European young talents. Young talents need to be trained properly and clubs need an incentive to invest in young talents and to train them.
"This decision will hopefully have a positive effect on the training of young athletes in the EU."
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