UNLAWFUL TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS WORRY FUB

It is undeniable that the concept of ‘contractual stability’ is one of the cornerstones in football and that the payment of compensation for breach of contract is a fundamental part of contractual stability. The importance of contractual stability has been emphasized many times by the stakeholders in football, and in particular by the world governing body of football: FIFA. Indeed, Chapter IV of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (FIFA RSTP) is titled “Maintenance of Contractual Stability between professionals and clubs”.

According to FUB legal committee, it goes unsaid that if there would be no consequences for the premature termination of a contract without just cause, there would also be no such thing as ‘contractual stability’. In fact, if no compensation for breach of contract would be due in case of the unjust termination of a contract, nothing would deter both players as well as clubs from terminating their employment contracts at any given moment and for arbitrary reasons. Hence, if a club would not have to pay compensation to a player for the early termination of the contract without just cause, there will be no contractual stability as it would be completely up to the discretion of the club to terminate the contract at any given moment. If the consequence for terminating a contract would be equal to zero, players would be at the complete mercy of the club.