Page 7 - Deal Round Up My/June/July 2020

relented and decided to sell Eastham to Arsenal for £47,500. This could have been the end of
the matter but Eastham considered the issue worth standing up and fighting for. Backed by the
Professional Footballers’ Association who provided £15,000 to pay for Eastham’s legal fees, he
took Newcastle United to the High Court in 1963.
In the High Court Eastham argued that it was an unfair restraint of trade, and that Newcastle
United owed him £400 in unpaid wages and £650 in unpaid bonuses. The judge, Mr Justice
Wilberforce, ruled partly in the player’s favour, stating that the retain-and-transfer system used
by clubs was unreasonable, although he also ruled that as Eastham had refused to play for
Newcastle, that any payment of wages for the disputed period was at Newcastle’s discretion.
At the conclusion of the case, although Eastham did not gain personally, he succeeded in
reforming the British transfer market. The “retain” element of retain-and-transfer was greatly
reduced, providing fairer terms for players looking to re-sign for their clubs, and setting up a
transfer tribunal for disputes. It was an incredibly important case and enabled footballers in
England far greater choice and freedom when it came to their careers. Was it the beginning
of a slippery slope? Perhaps. Has the power that footballers now wield spun out of all control?
Most definitely in my humble opinion. There must be a happy medium though. A point where
the balance of power between club and player does not tip more in one direction than the
other. A point in which power is equitable to both. Whether or not that will ever happen
remains to be seen, but it is certainly worth hoping for, for the good of the game.
Then came Jean-Marc Bosman
Jean-Marc Bosman was a player for RFC Liège in the Belgian First Division. In 1990 his contract
expired and he wanted to transfer to another club, Dunkirk in the French league. However,
Dunkirk refused to meet his Belgian club’s transfer fee demand, so Liège refused to release
him. In the meantime, his wages were reduced as he was no longer a first-team player. So he
was trapped at a club that he did not want to play for. He took his case to the European Court
of Justice in Luxembourg and sued for restraint of trade, citing FIFA’s rules regarding football,
specifically Article 17, which relates to ‘contractual stability’ and ‘freedom of movement’.
6 7