On this day in 1995, Bosman court ruling started football’s gravy train

THERE have been many significant days in the history of football, but few have had the impact of this one — and a ball was never kicked.

In a courtroom in Luxembourg, in the case of Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman (1995) C-415/93, the European Court of Justice made a decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In simple language, the court banned restrictions on foreign EU players within national leagues, and allowed players in the EU to move to another club at the end of a contract without a transfer fee being paid.

Bosman was a player for RFC Liege in the Belgian First Division whose contract had expired in 1990.

He wanted to move to French club Dunkerque. However, they wouldn’t pay Liege’s transfer fee demand and Liege refused to release Bosman.

He took his case to the European Court of Justice and sued for restraint of trade.

The court ruled that Bosman and all other EU footballers should be given the right to a free transfer at the expiration of their contracts when transferring between UEFA-registered clubs.

Previously, clubs in many parts of Europe were able to prevent players from joining a club in another country even if their contracts had expired.

In the UK, Transfer Tribunals had been in place since 1981 to resolve disputes over fees between clubs when transferring out-of-contract players.

The Bosman ruling also prohibited domestic leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players as they discriminated against nationals of EU states.

It forced UEFA to scrap a rule that prohibited teams in its competitions from naming more than three “foreign” players in their squads for any game.

Since the ruling came into effect in 1995, many notable players have benefited.

In 1996, Edgar Davids became Europe’s first high-profile player to exploit the ruling when he moved from Ajax to AC Milan on a free.

In 1999, Steve McManaman became Britain’s first high-profile Bosman departure when he left Liverpool for Real Madrid.

Since then, hundreds have negotiated deals according to their market value when their contracts expired.

The Arsenal pair of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will be in that position next summer if they refuse to sign new deals.

The Bosman ruling has made multi-millionaires of star players who wind down their contracts.

It did nothing, however, to benefit Bosman himself, who drifted out of the game and into a spiral of alcoholism and depression.

He hit rock bottom on the 16th anniversary of the ruling in 2011, a drunken row with his then girlfriend and her daughter resulting in a suspended prison sentence for domestic violence.