EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY The Introduction of the Social Dialogue in the European Professional Football Sector Impact on Football Governance, Legal Certainty and Industrial Relations Roberto Carlos Branco Martins Submitted for the degree of PhD at Edge Hill University Contents INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................................... 18 Explaining Policy Change in the European Union ............................................................... 18 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 18 Models of Sports Regulation ............................................................................................ 18 Macro Theories ................................................................................................................ 21 Micro Theories ................................................................................................................. 25 Application of European Union Law to Sport ..................................................................... 41 Sport and the EU Treaty ................................................................................................... 41 Free Movement Cases: The Sports Related Jurisprudence of the CJEU ......................... 48 Competition Cases: The Sports Related Jurisprudence of the CJEU and the Decision making practice of the European Commission ................................................................ 54 Article 165 TFEU and EU Sports Policy ......................................................................... 59 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 67 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................. 71 The Football Subsystem ....................................................................................................... 71 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 71 The Sporting Autonomy Coalition ................................................................................... 72 Football Business Coalition ............................................................................................. 82 Hurting Stalemate ............................................................................................................. 88 Fora for negotiated settlement: European Commission and the Court of Arbitration for Sport ................................................................................................................................. 89 The European Commission .............................................................................................. 89 The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ........................................................................ 94 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 99 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................. 101 European Union Labour Law and European Social Dialogue ........................................... 101 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 101 Evolution of EU labour law ........................................................................................... 101 Social Policy and Law Making: Diversity and Flexibility ............................................. 113 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 134 CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................................................... 136 Social Dialogue in European Union Professional Football ................................................ 136 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 136 Dutch Employers’ Organisation in Professional Football (FBO) Researches Impact of Directive 1999/70 ........................................................................................................... 138 Creation of the European Federation of Football Clubs (EFFC) ................................... 140 1 The Creation of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee in the Professional Football Sector (FSDC) .................................................................................................. 143 Agreement Regarding the Minimum Requirements for Standard Player Contracts in the Professional Football Sector in the European Union and in the Rest of the UEFA Territory ......................................................................................................................... 147 Implementation and Enforcement of the Autonomous Agreement................................ 151 Assessment of the FSDC ................................................................................................ 154 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 160 CHAPTER SIX ...................................................................................................................... 162 FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players ................................................... 162 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 162 The FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players: The 2001 Agreement .... 163 FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, 2008-2013 ............................ 169 The Status and Registration of Players .......................................................................... 170 Contractual Stability ....................................................................................................... 172 Training Compensation .................................................................................................. 187 Minors ............................................................................................................................ 191 Player Release to National Teams .................................................................................. 195 The Duration of Contracts .............................................................................................. 196 The Use of Unilateral Option Clauses ............................................................................ 197 Dispute Resolution ......................................................................................................... 198 Overall Assessment of the use of Social Dialogue as a Forum for the Creation of Legal Certainty ......................................................................................................................... 198 Contractual Stability ....................................................................................................... 199 Training Compensation .................................................................................................. 200 Minors ............................................................................................................................ 201 Duration of Contracts ..................................................................................................... 202 Player Release for National Teams ................................................................................ 203 Dispute Resolution ......................................................................................................... 204 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 204 CHAPTER SEVEN ................................................................................................................ 205 UEFA Regulations ............................................................................................................. 205 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 205 UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play .............................................................. 207 Financial Fair Play Regulations and the Free Movement of Workers ........................... 215 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 215 The UEFA Home Grown Player Rule ............................................................................ 218 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 226 2 CHAPTER EIGHT ................................................................................................................. 229 Third Party Influence and the Activities of Players’ Agents ............................................. 229 Introduction 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