(Reuters) – Proposed FIFA regulations for football agents, including a fee cap, have been ruled incompatible with British competition law by an English FA tribunal after a five-month arbitration on Thursday.
The tribunal was established in June following challenges from agencies CAA Base, Wasserman, Stellar, and ARETE to the implementation of FIFA’s new regulations in the National Football Agent Regulations (NFAR) for English domestic transfers.
The regulations restrict an agent’s fee to 3% when a player’s annual salary is over $200,000 and 5% when it is under that amount. The limit doubles for an agent representing both the player and the club in a transfer.
“The FA Rule K Tribunal… declared that if the FA implements the fee cap and the pro rata payment rules in the NFAR, it will be in breach of the Competition Act 1998,” the FA said in a statement.
“The FA is considering the implications of the decision and will provide a further update as soon as it is able.”
Earlier this year, courts in Germany and Spain issued temporary injunctions against implementing some of the regulations in domestic transfers.
The FA tribunal’s decision only affected two of the multiple provisions in the regulations, FIFA said in a statement.
“Other key provisions were endorsed by the tribunal, including those preventing agents from representing multiple clients in a transfer, and requiring that the client pays the agent, both of which were unsuccessfully challenged by the agents.
“FIFA has already scheduled a meeting with the Football Agent Working Group to discuss the outcome of these proceedings,” FIFA added.
FIFA won a challenge against its agent regulations in July when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed a case brought by a Switzerland-based agents’ association.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru)
