Charleroi court case open

The court case involving R. Charleroi SC and FIFA opened at the Palais de Justice in the Belgian town yesterday in front of a panel of five judges, led by Jean-Philippe Lebeau, and a courtroom full of press and public.

Case brought
The case was brought by Charleroi against the world governing body because one of their players, Abdelmajid Oulmers, returned injured from an international friendly for Morocco last year. Charleroi are claiming compensation of €615,000, but FIFA's regulations do not foresee this.

Monday hearing
UEFA, as well as four of its sister continental confederations plus 49 of its member associations, formally intervened in the case in support of FIFA. Monday's hearing went ahead despite talks between FIFA representatives and Charleroi chairman Abbas Bayat late last week.

Six hours
After six hours of legal submissions yesterday, the judges have between 30 and 90 days to reach their decision. "Due to the importance of the case, they are aiming to reach a decision in about half the time," a court official said. The case could also be referred to the European Court of Justice, the highest court in the European Union.

Transfer system
The case could have implications as far-reaching as the 1995 Bosman ruling, which changed the face of club football in Europe. Jean-Marc Bosman is the Belgian player who won a lawsuit against UEFA that instituted free agency for players as well as free movement for EU players. UEFA had argued that the transfer system as it stood forced clubs to invest locally, prevented them from buying and selling as they pleased, and also rewarded smaller teams for their training efforts.

Grassroots game
Europe's richer clubs have long sought more compensation from FIFA for letting their players play in national team competitions, but FIFA points out that profits from these competitions are ploughed back into the grassroots of the game through payments to national federations, and that without the rules concerning the release of players, national team competitions could not take place.