The top European leagues and players’ union, FIFPRO, have filed a legal complaint against FIFA with the European Commission over what they claim is an “abuse of dominance” by world football’s governing body.
The European Leagues, which represents 39 leagues – including the Premier League and 1,130 clubs across 33 countries, claim, along with the European branch of FIFPRO, that FIFA has abused its role under European competition law when it comes to the international fixture calendar.
The Spanish La Liga is not a member of the European Leagues but is joining the action.
Alexander Bielefeld, director of policy at FIFPRO, said the different parties “had submitted a legal complaint to the European Commission” and called it “unprecedented.”
There has been an ongoing row about the number of games players face during a season and this is the latest legal action that has been filed on the issue.
The Professional Footballers’ Association joined a legal action against FIFA in June about the “overloaded and unworkable” football calendar.
The PFA and the French players’ union filed a claim at the Brussels court of commerce “challenging the legality of FIFA’s decisions to unilaterally set the international match calendar and, in particular, the decision to create and schedule the FIFA Club World Cup 2025”.
There are scheduled to be 12 European representatives at the expanded Club World Cup, to be held in the United States from June 15-July 13.
The tournament was confirmed by the FIFA Council in December 2022 and the PFA argues it is a “tipping point for the football calendar and the ability of players to be able to take meaningful breaks between seasons”.
FIFPRO has also claimed, external “FIFA’s decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players”.-BBC