In 2024 Lassana Diarra won a legal case against Fifa over transfer rules
"A seismic legal confrontation between players and Fifa."
The view of former Fulham midfielder-turned-lawyer Udo Onwere when asked to assess the significance of the compensation claim launched against Fifa this week on behalf of current and former professional footballers over transfer rules.
On Monday, Dutch foundation Justice for Players (JFP) said it had started a class action lawsuit against the sport's world governing body, along with the football associations of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.
It argues that 100,000 footballers playing in Europe since 2002 could have lost income as a result of "unlawful" Fifa regulations, and that "preliminary analysis" shows that damages could amount to several billion pounds.
