European Leagues and FIFPRO file complaint with the European Commission against FIFA

By ADMIN On Oct 15, 2024

The Association of European Leagues, chaired by the Portuguese Pedro Proença, and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO) today filed a formal complaint with the European Commission against FIFA, due to the overload of the international calendar.

“The oversaturated international football calendar puts the safety and well-being of players at risk and threatens the economic and social sustainability of important national competitions, which have been enjoyed for years by generations of fans in Europe and around the world,” they denounced in a joint statement.The two bodies accuse FIFA of “abuse of a dominant position” and the complaint filed in Brussels directly concerns the expansion of international competitions, including the 2026 World Cup and the 2025 Club World Cup, in which Benfica and FC Porto will participate.”The complaint explains how FIFA’s imposition of decisions on the international calendar constitutes an abuse of a dominant position and violates European Union [EU] laws,” the statement said, warning of the “conflict of interests” between the sport’s regulatory body and competition organizer.

The association led by the president of the Portuguese Professional Football League and the footballers’ representative recall the decisions of the European courts in the cases of the Super League and former French international Lassana Diarra, which are contrary to FIFA’s claims.

“It has become clear that, given the conflict of interests, FIFA must exercise its regulatory function in a transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate manner in order to neutralise this conflict of interests,” they warn.

European leagues and players want to be “included in the decision-making processes related to the preparation of calendars”, something that should have “the force of law”, arguing that the current situation, of “lack of involvement of social partners, infringes EU competition law”.