Our mission

Justice for Players was founded to advocate for the interests of professional footballers. We challenge any breach of European law by FIFA that limits your rights on and off the pitch.

European law is clear: every player should have the freedom to decide for themselves where they work. Yet FIFA’s transfer rules restricted and still restrict the free movement of players and give FIFA and the national football associations too much power, whereas negotiations between players and clubs should be more balanced. A player’s freedom is restricted when they wish to change clubs. The Court of Justice of the European Union recently ruled that FIFA’s transfer rules violate the free movement of persons and competition law.  Our mission is to ensure that players are compensated for the losses that they have suffered as a result of these unlawful FIFA rules.

What Justice For Players is doing for you:

  • Raise awareness

    we are shining light on how FIFA’s rules limit your freedom and give FIFA too much power

  • Open dialogue

    we will seek negotiated solutions

  • Take legal action

    if we are unable to come to an agreement with FIFA, we will initiate legal proceedings

  • Secure positive change

    in addition to obtaining fair compensation, we will work hard to improve fairness to players via a better governance.

Why now?

In the case brought by Lassana Diarra against FIFA for unfair transfer rules,  the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that FIFA’s transfer rules unlawfully restrict the free movement of footballers and breach European competition law. The case concerned French player Lassana Diarra, who ended his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow and was then barred from signing with a new club. In October 2024, the court ruled that FIFA’s transfer rules are contrary to EU law and that every player had suffered a damage because of such rules (therefore, not just players who – like Lassana Diarra – have seen their careers particularly affected).

Team

Boardmembers

  • Lucia Melcherts

    Lucia Melcherts

    Chair

    Lucia Melcherts has been the chair of Stichting Massaschade & Consument (Foundation for Mass Damages & Consumers) since 2021. She also holds the position of Coordinating Specialist Advisor at the Ministry of Justice and Security. Ms. Melcherts is a legal generalist with extensive managerial experience in both the private and public sectors. Before her current position, she worked at the Dutch Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) and served as Head of Legal Affairs at De Geschillencommissie (The Disputes Committee). Previously, she served as Deputy Judge at the Rotterdam District Court and practiced law as an attorney specializing in collective consumer actions. For nine years of her legal career, she was affiliated with the Consumentenbond (Dutch Consumers’ Association).

  • Dolf Segaar

    Board member

    Dolf Segaar founded his own law firm in July 2021, specializing in governance and litigation, with a strong focus on sports law. Prior to establishing his own practice, Mr. Segaar worked from 1989 at the law firm CMS, including serving as Managing Partner of CMS Netherlands. Mr. Segaar is an expert in sports law and actively serves as a supervisor within various national and international sports organizations. In 2022, he was appointed as arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, and since 2024 he has served as a visiting professor at Seoul National University.

  • Franco Baldini

    Board member

    Franco Baldini is a former professional footballer (1978-1990) and agent (1990-1999), after which he held different senior management roles at top international clubs and organizations, including AS Roma (1999-2005, 2011-2013 and 2015-2020 as a consultant), Real Madrid FC (2006-2007), the England National Football Team (2008-2011) and Tottenham Hotspur FC (2013-2015). A graduate in Legal, Economic and Managerial Sciences of Sport at the Atri (Teramo) University, Mr. Baldini currently runs his own consulting firm, IC20ltd. 

Team

Supervisory board

Our Supervisory Board includes seasoned industry and legal experts, such as former Court of Justice judge and professor Melchior Wathelet, professor of corporate law Karen Harmsen (University of Amsterdam), and professor of economic theory Oliver Budzinski (Ilmenau University of Technology).

  • Melchior Wathelet

    Chairman Supervisory Board

    Melchior Wathelet was Professor of European Law at KU Leuven and the University of Liège, UCLouvain-la-Neuve, and several other universities. He is currently Professor at Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University. He has held several positions in Belgian politics, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice (1988-1995). From 1995 to 2003, he served as a Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Communities, and from 2012 to 2018 as First Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Mr. Wathelet studied at the University of Liège and Harvard University and is the author of numerous publications on European law. His background blends legal expertise with extensive experience in high-level governance.

  • Karen Harmsen

    Member Supervisory Board

    Karen Harmsen is Professor of Corporate Law and Financial Reporting Law at the University of Amsterdam (Amsterdam Business School) and partner at TOON Advocaten. She has gained extensive experience in corporate law and insolvency law throughout her career at law firms Stibbe and Rutgers & Posch. Ms. Harmsen earned her doctorate in 2019 at Radboud University Nijmegen, combining a robust academic background with substantial practical expertise. She serves on several editorial boards related to insolvency law and corporate law disputes and is a board member of Stichting Grotius Academie. Her expertise makes her a valuable supervisor for complex legal proceedings.

  • Oliver Budzinski

    Oliver Budzinski

    Member Supervisory Board

    Oliver Budzinski is Professor of Economic Theory at Technische Universität Ilmenau in Germany. He has held several academic positions, including Visiting Professor at New York University and Professor of Competition and Sports Economics at the University of Southern Denmark, where he headed the Markets & Competition research group from 2010 to 2012. Mr. Budzinski studied economics at the University of Hannover, where he also obtained his doctorate. He has authored numerous publications on competition economics, media economics, and sports economics, drawing on extensive academic expertise and international research experience.

Our partners