Moussa Sissoko takes French agent row to European Court of Human Rights | OneFootball

Moussa Sissoko has lodged a case with the European Court of Human Rights, arguing the FFF is wrongly preventing him from being paid for advisory work in France. The adviser to Ousmane Dembélé wants recognition to operate legally on home soil, according to L'Équipe.

The Franco-Malian, 42, is London based and works across Europe. He represents Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki, and registered as an intermediary with the English FA in 2021.

French law makes sports agency a licensed profession under Code du Sport articles L. 222-5 to L. 222-22 and R. 222-1 to R. 222-42, with EU or EEA nationals able to receive time-limited authorisation if they notify the FFF. Non-EU nationals without a licence may act by partnering with a licensed FFF agent.

On 30 May 2021 Sissoko signed such agreements with Warsame Egal, including one covering Salim Ben Seghir’s move from Nice to Marseille, but the FFF refused to register them, citing Sissoko’s French nationality. He and Egal sought CNOSF conciliation, then went to the administrative court in October 2021, were rejected in July 2023 and lost again on appeal, despite the FFF decisions being annulled. A final bid at the Conseil d’État failed on 21 February 2025.

Sissoko says he will see the process through, wants to prove he can work in France and will be patient, adding that if he fails he might stop placing players in Ligue 1. His lawyer, Matthieu Barandas, calls the situation surreal, argues it amounts to reverse discrimination and says the system is outdated, and Sissoko is considering lodging a preliminary question. Options floated include taking the licence exam, relocating to an EU country to register as a service provider or creating a consultancy with a genuinely involved licensed agent, while a 2017 probe into alleged illegal practice was closed without action in 2019 as Dembélé discusses a new PSG deal to 2028.

Source: L'Équipe