Page 8 - Deal Round Up My/June/July 2020

The case took five years to come to court with it eventually being submitted in 1993 with
the ruling given in December 1995. By this time Bosman was frozen out at Liege and playing
football in lower amateur leagues. The case challenged football’s transfer rules citing ‘freedom
of movement’ within the European Union.
The Belgian won the landmark case, giving birth to “the Bosman ruling” – which allows
players to leave their club and join another at the end of their contract. It also put an end
to rules that limited clubs to no more than three foreign players.
What did that mean for other players?
The freedom for players to leave for free once their contracts are up gives two distinct
advantages. Firstly, the interested club does not need to pay the player’s current club a fee,
which means the footballer can negotiate a higher salary based on the money the club saves
in a free transfer. In other words, if a club does not need to pay another club millions for a
player, then they can afford to pay the player more. Secondly, it means clubs not only can’t
hold onto players after their contracts finish, but also need to plan ahead before they expire.
For example, if a player has one year left on a contract, the club may be forced to sell the
player or risk losing him for nothing in 12 months’ time.
Unfortunately the years Bosman was chasing justice he should
have been in his prime in the sport but here he was taking
football’s business model to the judiciary.
Perhaps it’s no surprise club chairmen wouldn’t seriously
consider signing him in the meantime. Other clubs showed
interest but could not sign him because they already had three
foreign players. And by the time his case was won, he was in
his thirties and nearing the end of the typical footballer’s career.
Bosman fell on hard times after football and has never truly
recovered from the impact of his failed transfer and subsequent
treatment.
He squandered money on a disastrous investment in t-shirts, which were branded with the
words ‘Who’s the Boz’. He hoped footballers benefiting from the ruling made in his name
would show support by buying them. He only ever sold one – to his lawyer’s son.
In 2011, he was given a suspended prison sentence for assaulting his girlfriend and he has
suffered with alcoholism. He was contacted for interview by several sources but he declined.
His comments to German paper Bild, however, suggest he is still in a dark place.
“The verdict has not only destroyed my career,” he said.
“The load was too heavy to carry for a single person. With the Bosman judgment, I have
achieved something that no minister would have achieved politically.
“The fact that I was treated by the clubs as a traitor and dirt has hit me deeply.”
To recoup some money he lost, the Belgian had to reportedly sell his second house and his
prized Porsche.
He’s now unemployed and relies on handouts from the world footballers’ union FIFPro.
So, spare a thought for the poor professional footballer or ‘prima donas’ because what
they have today has been fought for with blood, sweat and tears, just like on the training
ground!!!.
But now we are out of the EU.............................., will another Eastham or Bosman step up
to the plate?

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