New Commentary Edition of FIFA RSTP
On 10 November 2021, FIFA released the awaited 2021 edition of its Commentary to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP). The new edition of the Commentary on RSTP will replace the first Commentary edition released in 2007, which was published to supplement the RSTP which came into force in 2001 following cooperation and negotiations between FIFA, UEFA and the European Commission.
The 2021 Commentary Edition of FIFA RSTP was launched during a FIFA presentation 10 November 2021, including presentations from FIFA President Giovanni Infantino and Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at FIFA Emilio Garcia Silvero. During the launch there were also round table discussions involving i.a. European Commission & member of the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the FIFA Football Tribunal Michele Colucci, and FIFA Deputy General Secretary Alasdair Bell, former Head of FIFA’s Players’ Status Department as well as the current Head of FIFA’s Players’ Status Department, Erika Montemor Ferreira.
The aim of the 2021 edition of the Commentary on RSTP is that it will support football associations, clubs, players, leagues and football legal experts towards a consistent implementation of the rules across the global football community. The 2007 edition of the Commentary is regularly referred to by legal representatives involved in disputes before FIFA’s decision making bodies, as well as in disputes before The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and is also referred to regularly in CAS awards.
RSTP in its current form came into force in 2001, following the Bosman case, where the European Court of Justice concluded that concluded that football associations are obliged to comply with EU law, including the principle of free movement for workers, and that the a club cannot claim transfer compensation for a player whose contract is expired without breaching the principle of free movement of workers. Following the Bosman case, FIFA started working on a new edition of RSTP, and in 2001, after years of discussions between EU, UEFA and FIFA, an agreement was reached, where the parties agreed on central principles of transfer regulations. These principles were then implemented in the RSTP released in July the same year, and the central principles remain the same today.
RSTP has been essential in a large number of disputes, first and foremost in contractual disputes between clubs and players, and disputes between clubs with regards to transfer fees, training compensation and solidarity contribution. FIFA anticipates that the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) alone will handle about 3,500 disputes per year, while Player’s Status Chamber (PSC) handle approximately 700 disputes and 6,000 regulatory applications on an annual basis.
It remains to be seen if the 2021 Commentary edition of RSTP will lead to a decrease in the number of football related disputes.
