FIFA reaches agreement with Lassana Diarra after 12-year legal battle | OneFootball

FIFA and Lassana Diarra have reached an agreement to settle their long-running legal dispute. The former midfielder had been seeking €65 million in damages from FIFA and the Belgian federation. FIFA said in a statement that the parties have settled all legal proceedings, adding it accepted no liability and paid no compensation.

The case stems from 2014, when the ex-PSG midfielder left Lokomotiv Moscow a year after signing a four-year contract. FIFA then fined him €10.5 million.

In 2024, after prolonged litigation, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Diarra’s favour, casting doubt on the transfer rules. The court considered those rules liable to hinder the free movement of professionals seeking to join a new club.

In October 2025, he lodged a damages claim against FIFA and the Belgian federation following that ruling. That claim has now been resolved by the agreement.

The case also helped spark Justice for Players, a collective action against FIFA involving 2,000 to 3,000 footballers. It seeks redress for harm since FIFA’s transfer regulations came into force in 2002.

Source: L'Équipe