If a dispute should be handled by domestically, either by ordinary courts or domestic sports tribunals or by international sports tribunals, such as FIFA’s football tribunals, will primarily depend on whether the dispute has an international dimension. Many national football associations have established domestic sports arbitration systems, handling domestic sports related disputes, i.e. where all the parties to the dispute are based in the same country. A football dispute with an international dimension will normally be handled by FIFAs football tribunals.

The outbreak of Covid-19/the coronavirus has forced the vast majority of the world’s football organisations and associations to suspend football activities to one extent or another. At present, all international competitions and most domestic competitions are suspended, whilst most countries have applied strict restrictions to avoid crowds, which strongly affect the possibility to organise team trainings. As a result of the challenges football faces due to Covid-19/the coronavirus, 7th April FIFA issued guidelines that address the legal consequences of Covid-19. This article will examine the guidelines regarding the contractual relationship between clubs and players, more specifically to what extent the guidelines can and will affect the clubs’ and players’ rights and obligations according to the player contracts.