Free-kick spray ‘Spuni’ at heart of long-running FIFA patent row | OneFootball

The white foam used by referees at free-kicks, popularised at the 2014 World Cup, sits at the centre of a protracted legal and financial battle between its inventors and FIFA. Conflicting Brazilian rulings have left any compensation unresolved.

"It is David against Goliath," Pablo Silva said. "We fought with very few weapons, an unfair battle, but we managed to take a historic victory," he told The Athletic at the time.

Branded "Spuni", Portuguese for foam, the product was developed by 9.15 Fair Play, founded by Brazilian Heine Allemagne and Argentine Pablo Silva. Allemagne filed a patent in 2000, the pair joined forces in 2006, and with backing from Argentine federation chief and FIFA vice-president Julio Grondona, the spray reached a wider audience.

After trials at the 2011 Copa América and the 2013 Under-20 World Cup, IFAB approved its official use at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. That stage has since framed the dispute. The spray lets referees mark the kick spot and a 9.15 metre line for the wall.

Following Grondona’s death and Sepp Blatter’s 2015 resignation, the inventors went to Brazilian courts in 2018. They accused FIFA of patent theft, of benefiting from a wave of copycat suppliers, and of breaking commercial promises.

In 2020 the patents were ruled inapplicable, then in 2021 Brazil’s superior court backed Allemagne and Silva, with mooted damages of up to $100 million, not confirmed. In 2024 the Superior Tribunal de Justiça ordered FIFA to pay $40 million, before the Supreme Federal Court upheld liability but annulled the sum, which remains unsettled and likely to prompt further appeals. Referees still draw the white lines each match, with no guarantee it is the original Spuni.

Source: L'Équipe