[...] Nonetheless, important changes happened on the club level. On the 6th of April 2001 Energie Cottbus was the first club in the Bundesliga that played with 11 non-German players (Kicker, 8th April 2001). This extreme case shows that significant changes have taken place after the ruling. Clubs require more players from other countries, and competition for the superstars of sport has become enormous. The aim of this paper is to identify the changes, which have come up for soccer due to the Bosman case. Therefore the main question will be the following: How did the Bosman-case affect the European football leagues, and especially the top-five leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France)?
In order to answer this question many different dimension have to be taken into consideration, since the Bosman case revolutionized football in more than one way. Thus aspects, which have to be mentioned here, include the changed number of foreign football players in the European leagues, the new transfer system, the new competitiveness situation as well as the financial development of the clubs.
Sub-questions, which need to be answered in order to support the main questions, are: What is the historical relation between the EU law and sport law? What exactly is the content of the Bosman case? Which additional sport cases where decided by the ECJ after the Bosman ruling? How did the clubs react to the changed rules? Where the players able to benefit from the Bosman ruling, and if so how exactly? Has the competitive balance situation changed after Bosman? Are there also other reasons that can explain a changed situation?
In the first part the question about the exact relation between the EU and the sport law will be answered. Sport still enjoys a certain freedom and can implement rules and laws, which are limited to the field of sport, but the EU is driving back this freedom. Thus measures and statements, which were taken by EU officials, will be examined, in order to show why the Bosman case was possible. [...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. EU sports politics and Sport Law
2.1 Council of Ministers and Sport
2.2 The ECJ
2.3 Walrave and Koch
2.4 The Dona Case
2.5 The legal situation for sport before Bosman
3. The Bosman Case
3.1 Transfer rules before Bosman
3.2 Jean-Marc Bosman
3.3 The basic of the judgement
3.4 Reactions of officials
3.5 Ideas and outlooks of scholars for the future after the judgement
3.6 Immediate results of the Bosman case
4. Cases after Bosman
4.1 The Lehtonen Case
4.2 Kolpak Case
4.3 Simutenkov Case
4.4 Summing up of the cases after Bosman
4.5 Politics and Sport after Bosman
5. Implementation of the Bosman Case
5.1 Direct Implementation after the ruling
5.2 The slow process of adjusting the teams
5.3 Harry van der Meer and the DEL (example 2)
5.4 Gentleman Agreements in Law
5.5 Summary of the first reactions
6. Changed relations between clubs and players
6.1 Player salaries before Bosman
6.3 Financial Problems in different leagues
6.4 Movement of players
6.5 Problems of the free movement of players
6.6 Transfer development
6.7 New transfer system after 2001
6.8 Rules restricting the free movement
7. Competitive balance in football
7.1 Methodology
7.2.1 Competition situation before Bosman at the European level
7.2.2 European competition after Bosman
7.3.1 Situation of national leagues before Bosman
7.3.2 Situation of national leagues after Bosman
7.4 Other statistical measures of imbalance in football leagues
7.5 Conclusion of the Competitive Balance section
8. Financial development of football clubs in Europe
8.1 The change in economic revenues of the clubs
8.2 The 20 richest clubs in Europe and their heritage
8.3 TV revenues and the share of the clubs
9. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This thesis examines the impact of the 1995 Bosman ruling on professional football in Europe, with a focus on the top five leagues. The study aims to investigate how European Union law has transformed football, specifically regarding player transfer systems, player movement, competitive balance, and the financial structure of clubs.
- The historical relationship between European Union law and professional sports.
- The legal content and consequences of the Bosman case and subsequent legal follow-ups.
- The shift in labor relations, specifically player salaries and freedom of movement.
- The changing financial landscapes of European clubs and the influence of TV revenues.
- Assessment of competitive balance within national and European club football competitions.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
“This is an attack on football, it destroys a system which worked perfectly fine for years“ “football will get squeezed out because of this judgement or “Euro-Shock-Clubs in Chaos” (Gassmann and Knop, 2004). Those were some of the reactions of football officials or journalist that referred to the Bosman case and the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the 15th of December 1995. Never before a decision made by the ECJ in the area of sport, became this highly controversial and critically debated by scholars, athletes and everybody in the field of sport.
Transfers of players have been in practice since the game of football became more popular in England during the end of the 19th century. Since the season 1893/94 a player could only be registered for one club, and was only allowed to play for this team during the season1. This was the first restriction of player movement in football, and all other leagues, which have been formed after the English league, applied the basics of this.
If however the club withdrew the licence of the player, a new club was able to sign him for the upcoming season. Therefore, if a player wanted to go to another club, the new club had to pay the old compensation fees in order to make it admirable for the old club to withdraw the licence. Transfers have frequently taken place, as football became the sport number one in most European countries and therefore economically more important and bigger. Another restriction that was in practice for many years was to limit the numbers of foreigners on any team. In European competition only three foreigners were allowed per team.
The Bosman case brought two pillars of the existing system down. On the one hand, an unlimited number of foreign players of all EU member states were now able to play for every club in the EU. The other big change was the end of transfer fees after the contract of a player expired.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the central research question regarding the effects of the Bosman ruling on European football leagues.
2. EU sports politics and Sport Law: Analyzes the historical legal framework of sport within the European Community and early relevant court cases.
3. The Bosman Case: Explains the details of the Bosman judgment, the reactions of officials, and the initial legal arguments.
4. Cases after Bosman: Discusses subsequent legal challenges, including the Lehtonen, Kolpak, and Simutenkov cases, and their expansion of rights.
5. Implementation of the Bosman Case: Evaluates how leagues adapted to the new regulations and the emergence of gentleman agreements.
6. Changed relations between clubs and players: Investigates the economic shift in player salaries, transfer fee development, and labor market changes.
7. Competitive balance in football: Examines whether league competition has become more or less balanced in the post-Bosman era.
8. Financial development of football clubs in Europe: Analyzes revenue sources, the importance of TV rights, and the financial gap between clubs.
9. Conclusion: Summarizes the thesis findings and reflects on the future of professional football in a complex regulatory environment.
Keywords
Bosman Case, European Court of Justice, EU law, Professional football, Transfer system, Player salaries, Competitive balance, Free movement of workers, TV revenues, Club finance, Labor law, Sport politics, Lehtonen Case, Kolpak Case, Simutenkov Case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
This work explores the structural and financial transformations of European professional football following the landmark 1995 Bosman ruling.
Which specific areas of football are covered?
The study focuses on player transfer regulations, the financial sustainability of clubs, the movement of international players, and competitive balance in leagues.
What is the primary research question?
The thesis asks how the Bosman case affected European football leagues, specifically the top five leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France).
Which methodology does the author use?
The author employs a combination of academic literature analysis, examination of European court rulings, and statistical data to assess trends in league dominance and club finance.
What does the main section of the paper cover?
The main section investigates the legal shifts caused by the Bosman case, the subsequent adaptation by clubs and associations, and the resulting economic impact on player wages and transfer market behaviors.
Which keywords define this academic work?
The primary keywords include Bosman Case, EU law, Transfer system, Competitive balance, and Professional football.
What is the significance of the Lehtonen and Kolpak cases?
These cases are discussed as critical follow-up legal challenges that extended the principles of the Bosman ruling, specifically regarding non-discrimination against non-EU players and international transfer windows.
What are the findings regarding competitive balance?
The findings indicate that the gap between elite clubs and smaller clubs has widened, with a trend toward increased domination by top-tier teams in the post-Bosman era.
- Quote paper
- Daniel Schmidt (Author), 2007, The effects of the Bosman-case on the professional football leagues with special regard to the top-five leagues , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/111645
