FIFA says deal close to resolve transfer system complaint

A complaint to the European Commission challenging soccer's transfer market is set to be withdrawn by the global group of players' unions, according to FIFA.

A formal complaint that the trading system is "anti-competitive, unjustified and illegal" was filed in Brussels two years ago by FIFPro.

After a meeting Thursday of the FIFA stakeholders committee, soccer's world governing body said a tentative agreement relating to unpaid player wages and transfer fees reached with FIFPro, European clubs and a global leagues' group can help end the dispute next year.

"It was an issue that was stewing for a long, long, long time," FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani told reporters after chairing the meeting. "Because of our impetus they came to an agreement."

FIFPro, which has campaigned to let players terminate contracts after going unpaid for several weeks, cautiously welcomed its "constructive talks with FIFA."

"(It's) premature to discuss what might happen next regarding our legal complaint against the transfer system, or any prospective deal until we are satisfied with the proposals put forth," the Netherlands-based union said.

FIFA has been open to reviewing a transfer system which has seemed weighted in favor of wealthy clubs and was widely criticized in the European summer trading window. Salary caps, limits on squad sizes and restricting loan deals have been suggested.

Representing 65,000 players, FIFPro had suggested its September 2015 filing threatened the biggest upheaval in transfer rules since the Bosman case in 1995.

Then, a European Court of Justice ruling gave players more freedom to move within the European Union and drove up salaries by letting clubs sign out-of-contract players without paying a transfer fee.

The tentative accord FIFA announced Thursday seeks to amend complex transfer regulations and better protect players and clubs from unpaid salaries and transfer fees.

Another shared goal is enforcing cases more efficiently with a clearer path to applying sanctions. Players can wait many months — and even years — pursuing claims for unpaid wages in FIFA judicial bodies.

FIFA's ruling council must approve the accord next week at a meeting in India. A new draft of transfer regulations could then be put to the Council next March in Zurich, clearing FIFPro to drop its complaint case.

Delegates at FIFA headquarters Thursday included English Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore and two-time Champions League winner Edwin van der Sar, now CEO at Ajax.

The session also discussed changing rules that govern players' eligibility for national teams and switching allegiance, FIFA said.

However, talking points such as club salary caps, allowing an extra Copa America tournament in 2020 on the international match calendar, and issues around the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were not raised.