Summary: Daniel Geey of the Competition and EU Regulatory Law Group at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP makes another appearance on the show to take an early look at the challenge placed before the EU in the matter of UEFA Financial Fair Play, which gives the European authority to exclude clubs from its most lucrative competitions. At the core of this process is Jean-Louis Dupont, who helped Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman change European law in 1995, and changed forever the relationship players have to their football clubs, domestic leagues and even supporters throughout Europe as it was a landmark case altering the sport. Now while the rules are designed to keep big spending clubs from reaching past their means, at least in principle, what Dupont will be arguing is that Article 57 of UEFA Financial Fair Play, or the break-even component, will infringe upon several EU fundamental rights of freedom of capital, workers and services, acting through either intended or unintended means to create a deflationary effect on player wages and revenue for agent fees and salaries. Daniel is here to shed some fascinating light on not only the procedural elements that will now be involved, but also brings some real world experience to bear when evaluating the merits of this case against both precedent and potentially exploitive points by counsel on both sides of the aisle. We examine once again the drawbridge net effect of FFP and whether the clear objectives of these regulations can offset the arguments placed before the commission, noting that existing and redefined legislation in the area of overdue payables with respect to other clubs, players and social or tax authorities were left unresolved. We also examine the roles of player agents and player associations as key stakeholders as it is now widely believed that more interested parties might be quick to include themselves in this action as well.
