Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
08
European Citizenship
Institute d’Etudes Politiques du Paris
The last fifteen years have represented a substantial change in the European
football’s transfer market. The expansion of the new markets, merchandising,
television rights and revenues have caused an increase in the number of transfers
within the world and the constant migrations from players from all Europe to the
most important European leagues. The main reason that accelerated change was the
resolution of the Bosman case. It was a legal decision held in 1995 made by the
European Court of Justice related to the freedom of movement for workers, freedom
of association and direct effect of article 48 of the Treaty of Rome. The case also
confronted the legality of the transfer system for players and the existence of the
quota systems that limited the number of foreign players playing a match and
banned the restrictions of foreign players of EU State Members within the national
leagues allowing professional football players in the Union to move freely to another
club at the end of their contract with their present team.
The debate about the limits and expansion of the European citizenship is
taking place nowadays because of the new applications and boundaries that have to
be established. The importance of understanding the Bosman case is that it is an
example of the evolution of the applications of the Treaty of the European Union in
terms of citizenship. We have to ask ourselves now if the resolution of the Bosman
case can be interpreted as a part of the spill over process regarding the EU
citizenship, or if just in an application of the article 48 of the Rome Treaty.
The election of this topic is based on the importance of the football not only
as a sport or economical but as a “cultural institution” 1. It can be interpreted that
the resolution is affecting only economical activity but arguing this, means leaving
behind other aspects of the football industry. Taking in account the different
aspects, the resolution can be understood as a part of a process of expansion
regarding all the activities in the EU.
The first part of the paper will present the facts of the Bosman case, the
reasons, process, and resolution all concerning the event that had changed the
European football. Secondly the aftermath of the resolution in terms of sport
activities and regulation concerning the decision of the European Court in
Luxembourg. In the end, an analysis of why this resolution can be interpreted as
part of the spill over process regarding the debate of a new conception of European
citizenship.
The base for this case is the Article 48 2 of the Treaty of Rome who
established the freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the
Community by the end of the transitional period at the latest and that such freedom
of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality
between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and
other conditions of work and employment. Also it shall entail the right, subject to
limitations justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health: to
accept offers of employment actually made; to move freely within the territory of
Member States for this purpose; to stay in a Member State for the purpose of
employment in accordance with the provisions governing the employment of
nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation or administrative action; to
remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State,
subject to conditions which shall be embodied in implementing regulations to be
drawn up by the Commission; the provisions of the Article do not applied to
employment in the public service.
The Articles 85 and 86 regarding competition are also important because
they were also part of the lawsuit that Mr. Bosman sued against the Belgian
Federation and the UEFA. The Article 85 3 states the prohibition of incompatible
The Bosman case has not been the first attempt to promote the free
movement of sport workers within the EU, (Walrave case; Sentence December 12th
1974 and Donà case; Sentence July 14th 1976) 5 the difference is the effects that
came from the it. After some debates regarding the nature of the football players,
The European Parliament approved in April 1989 one resolution about “Freedom of
movement of professional football players in the EEC” 6 were they considered the
football players as workers who had to receive the same guaranties and rights as the
other workers granted in the Treaty about the freedom of movement and the
principle of no discrimination. That led to the sign of a gentlemen's agreement in
1991, it was not obligatory, but it was used until the resolution of the Bosman case
in 1995.
No matter the decision of the European Parliament the football players of the
EU countries had restrictions regarding the free movement of workers granted by
the Article 48 of the Treaty of Rome, these restrictions imposed by the Union of
European Football Associations (UEFA), the institution that controls and organizes
the football in Europe; and by the National federations in terms in nationality and to
avoid the transfer of one player to another team without indemnification for the
owner team.
The problem aroused when Jean – Marc Bosman a player playing for the
football team R. C. Liege (Belgian first division) during 1988 and 1990 received a
new contract in 1990 that will reduced his salary by seventy five percent so he did
not take the offer and was put in the transfer list. No club showed any interest in
Bosman so he arranged a contract with l’Union Sportive de Litoral de Dunkerque a
French club. The two soccer clubs agreed on a one-year temporary contract for
1,200,000 Belgium Francs and an option to buy Bosman after the first year for
4,800,000 Belgium Francs 7, in exchange for receipt by US Dunkerque of a transfer
“The ECJ ruled in favour of Bosman and a new era in the sport began” 13.
This phrase reflects all the importance of the Bosman ruling because the European
Court of Justice stated that sport is like any other economic activity and is subject to
ordinary rules of the European law. Before the Bosman case the federations and the
UEFA had been convinced that football was a “specific” 14 activity and have to be
ruled by their own laws.
Even Bosman was surprised with the turn of his case as he declared to the
World Soccer magazine in January 1996 15: "I expected to win my case, but not so
decisively. It was a total defeat for all my opponents. I feel proud I had the courage
to do something no other player had the courage to try. I showed that football is not
above the law.”
The implications of the Bosman are seen now all across Europe. The National
Clubs need to make longer contracts to maintain their players because if no they
could lose them in free transfers. The problem comes for the small teams or second
division teams who cannot afford to sign longer contracts with players (especially
young) so the good players in small teams usually can go to a more prestigious club
in a free transfer. A number of small clubs went bankrupt because they could no
longer rely on the transfer money that secured their futures when they sold a big
player 16.
The Bosman case has worked to benefit the players, now they can demand
higher wages and move to a new club that offers them more profit. “…the Bosman
Conclusion
This paper had the intention to show how the Bosman case has been part of
the spill – over process of the development of the European citizenship, passing
from economical rights to social and civil rights. The concept of citizenship cannot
be a static one, the society is changing and also the relationships between persons
and countries. These changes had led to the new conception of a dual citizenship
based not only in the country of origin but also in a supranational entity such as the
European Union. The basic criticisms about the possibility of having this dual
citizenship have been over passed because the searching for common rights went
far away for just economical rights, causing and expansion of them to the political,
civil and social fields, landing in new industry that were regulated by their own
rules like the football.
Taking away the consequences for the football industry, in legal terms the fact
30 Delwit, P. Electoral Participation and the European Poll: A Limited Legitimacy. 2002
31 Pfanner, E. TV ratings climb for Euro 2004. 2004 ¶6
32 Ibid. ¶12
33 Op. Cit. Roy. p. 12
34 Lafranchi, P. Bosman: A Real Revolution?. 2004. p. 111
that the European Court forced the UEFA to attach to the European legislation is
important because it forced all economical activities to take part in the European
legislation without any particularities. The fact that just one player could won a case
against a powerful organization like the UEFA shows the interest of the European
authorities in making efforts of integration and expansion of the concept of
citizenship.
The far the process of integration goes in Europe, the fast the concept of
citizenship expands. It is no more just about political rights, the social and civil are
taking place along with more necessities as long as the process continues and it is
not possible to maintain the definition in a static way. The concept of citizenship
goes far away from a legal construction because it is imbued with an ideological
value that must be explained by what they mean to real participants in social
contexts 35 as an ideological construction is where the cultural aspects can play an
important role and more football, because it is not a cultural expression but also as
an economical activity. The football has the particularity that can reinforce the
national values when talking about the National squads, but also promotes
integration within the clubs in the national leagues.
The Bosman case is not merely the application of the Article 48, it is part of the
spill – over process of the European citizenship because the concept is now
expanding its boundaries and taking in consideration another types of activities
proving that been European is not only exerting the political and economical rights,
but also participating in other types of activities that promote integration.
Bibliography
Aaron, Raymond. (1974). Is Multinational Citizenship Possible?. Social Research
74, vol. 41 / number 4
Blanpain, Roger. (2006). 10 years of Bosman: the fight for player freedom
continues. The International Sports Law Journal Jan-April, 2006. Retrieved
from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2ABX/is_1-
2/ai_n25012269
Comisión Europea. (2006). Deporte y libre circulación - El caso Bosman. Retrieved
from: http://ec.europa.eu/sport/sport-
and/markt/bosman/b_bosman_es.html
Crespo Pérez, Juan de Dios. 1996. El Caso Bosman: Sus Consecuencias. Revista
General Informática de Derecho. 622-623, 1996
Delwit, Pascal. (2002). Electoral Participation and the European Poll: A Limited
Legitimacy in Perrinau, Pascal; Grunberg, Gerard and Ysnal Colette: Europe
at the Pols: The European Elections of 1999. Palgrave
Enander, Niklas. (2001). Proposed measures by the UEFA and FIFA regarding the
transfer system. Retrieved from:
http://www.american.edu/TED/soccertrade.htm#legal#legal
Ennis, Darren. (2005). The Bosman Legacy in Footbal. Retrieved from:
http://kennethg.blogspot.com/2005/12/bosman-legacy-in-footbal.html
Kolonko, Christoph. (2006). Restraints of Trade in Sport: An International and
South African Perspective. University of the Western Cape. South Africa