How the Bosman Ruling changed professional soccer forever

It may be the most commonly referenced European Court of Justice ruling in history, and it affects a miniscule number of European professionals. It is of course Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman (1995) or as it’s more popularly known, “the Bosman ruling.”

At the centre of the case was Jean-Marc Bosman, a Belgian midfielder who played for RFC Liège in the Belgian First Division. In 1990, Bosman, like countless footballers before him, came to the end of his contract.

His club however did something that to modern football fans sounds faintly ridiculous and yet reflected accepted practice at the time—they refused to let Bosman leave. Or, more properly, they turned down a transfer bid from interested club Dunkerque as too low.

Prior to the Bosman ruling, out of contract players in some European countries were not free to leave their clubs unless their employers received a fee to their liking. In Bosman’s case, RFC Liège—unable to get the fee they wanted—reduced the out of contract player’s wages and shuffled him to the bench. He was, in effect, surplus goods.

So Bosman made a fateful decision for European football—he went to the European Court of Justice and sued for “restraint of trade” citing FIFA rules for players under contract.

After a long five years, in which Bosman played in some lower league sides in France and on a small island in the Indian Ocean, the ECJ published its landmark ruling. The system which prevented Bosman from switching clubs at the end of his contract placed a restriction on the free movement of workers, and therefore violated Article 39(1) of the Treaty of Rome.

The decision meant that out of contract players could sign for clubs of their own choosing. Moreover, it also banned foreign player quotas within the EU.

What might seem like small, technical changes to contract law heralded a major shift in power from clubs to players.

Players on a free transfer were able to fight for higher wages and bonuses in lieu of the club having to pay a transfer fee. Moreover clubs could no longer financially benefit from developing stars, cutting off a vital revenue source for smaller teams. Agents accrued tremendous power as middlemen between foreign players and clubs. In order to avoid losing their best players, clubs signed longer and more expensive contracts to ward off suitors. Some clubs were priced out of the elite player market for good, leading to a competitive imbalance.   

Moreover the ban on foreign player quotes allowed teams to field as many non-domestic players as they pleased (so long as the players came from within the EU). This heralded the age of Chelsea and Arsenal fielding first teams without a single English player. It completely changed the European game in the mid 1990s.

Ironically, the man at the centre of the ruling never signed another big contract. Though Jean-Marc Bosman won $1 million USD in damages, he was dogged with tax problems in Belgium. He suffered with depression and became an alcoholic later in life. It is a sad footnote that the man who made countless footballers richer than god has never been thanked in kind.