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Latest FL Journal Articles
29
May
2026
Real-Time Conflicts: New Paradigms in Conflict Resolution in Football - By Mariana FREITAS DE SOUZA & RIBEIRO VEIGA
Introduction
The historical development of the complexity of relationships surrounding contemporary sport extends beyond the sporting arena to encompass economic, social and institutional dimensions. In the context of football, the rise in competitive intensity, the growing complexity of relationships and the social repercussions arising from d...
29
May
2026
The Need for Specialized Labor Courts for Disputes Arising from Special Sports Employment Contracts in Light of the General Sports Law - By André GALDEANO SIMOES & Rafael DE ASSIS FERNANDES CERSOSIMO
Abstract
This article examines the need for jurisdictional specialization within the Labor Courts in adjudicating disputes arising from special sports employment contracts, taking as its primary normative framework Law no. 14,597/2023 (General Sports Law or GSL). It is argued that such disputes should not be analyzed primarily under the Cons...
29
May
2026
An Insight into the Regulatory Evolution of the Canadian Premier League from 2025 to 2026 - By Andrew WERNERS
The 2026 Canadian Premier League’s (CPL) Roster Rules and Regulations reflect a system that is no longer static or foundational, but increasingly dynamic. The updated framework demonstrates this in practice by including expanded definitions around player status, professional-amateur domestic club relationships and a framework for foreign player...
29
May
2026
Redefinition of Chilean Professional Football: One Step Away from the Publication of the Reform to Law no. 20,019 - By Luka ILIC & Ignacio TRIGUERO GEA
Over a decade ago, Chilean professional football began to expose a paradox that could no longer be overlooked.
The domestic clubs and the national team accumulated international achievements - with milestones such as Universidad de Chile’s victory in the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, third place at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, competitive campaigns...
29
May
2026
Commentary on the 2026 Chinese Football Association Player Status and Transfer Management Regulations – A Comparative Analysis of the Old and New Versions and FIFA RSTP - By Roy CHU & David WU
More than a decade after the previous edition, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) officially released the revised Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players of the Chinese Football Association (New CFA RSTP) on 24 February 2026. This article sets out the principal amendments introduced by the New CFA RSTP and, with reference to the FI...
29
May
2026
A Player’s Reaction to Crowd Misconduct May Still Constitute a Violation Leading to Disciplinary Sanctions and Liability - By Aspa SOULOUKOU
Permanent Committee for the Prevention of Violence of the Greek Ministry of Sports, 10 February 2026, no. 12/2026
Following the football match between AEK FC (AEK) and Olympiacos FC for the Superleague 2025-2026 season, which took place on 1 February 2026 at AEK’s home field, incidents occurred immediately after the end of the match. More specifically, supporters of the home team threw plastic bottles and an umbrella at the players of the visiting team as t...
29
May
2026
Negligent Conduct Lacking Intent Cannot be Classified as an Act of Sports Violence - By Aspa SOULOUKOU
Permanent Committee for the Prevention of Violence of the Greek Ministry of Sports, 14 October 2025, no. 30/2025
During the football match between AE Kifisia and AEK FC (AEK) for the Superleague 2025-2026 season, which took place on 5 October 2025 at the Municipal Stadium of Peristeri, an incident occurred before the end of the match. Right after the third goal scored by AEK around the 90th minute of the game, the owner of AEK, while celebrating the goal o...
29
May
2026
From Camera to Code: Generative AI and Player Image Rights Clauses in Football - By Georgi GRADEV, Marton KISS & Yanis DOERR
Generative AI changes the basic assumption behind football image rights clauses. For years, clubs negotiated the right to capture and reuse a player’s identity through photographs, video, interviews and promotional content. AI now goes further. It can generate new images, clone voices, simulate messages, localize campaigns, create avatars...
29
May
2026
Digital Identity and Player Protection in Football: Legal Gaps Exposed by Account Hacks and AI Impersonation - By Veronica ROZENFELD
Digital communication has become an integral part of a football player’s professional identity, often triggering immediate contractual, disciplinary and reputational consequences. Existing legal and regulatory frameworks in football largely assume that public statements attributed to players are intentional and within their control. Recent...
29
May
2026
Artificial Intelligence Practice: A Practical Guide for Sports Lawyers - By Georgi GRADEV & Marton KISS
Artificial intelligence is now part of everyday legal work. For sports lawyers, it can help summarize documents, extract clauses, produce first drafts, compare versions, translate, prepare chronologies and identify inconsistencies. Its value lies in speed, structure and disciplined verification. The value of counsel lies elsewhere: case th...
29
May
2026
Banking‑Style AML Duties in Professional Football – The Legal and Operational Challenges - By Juan de Dios CRESPO PEREZ & Khais RAHMANIE
In 2009, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) warned that football’s financial complexity and opacity made it vulnerable to money laundering. Nevertheless, it was only in 2024 that the European Union included football in its binding AML rules. From July 2029, clubs and agents face banking‑style due diligence. However, legal loopholes, s...
29
May
2026
Investing in a Football Company (SAF) in Brazil: Legal Certainty, Labour Contingencies and Essential Precautions for Investors - BY Lucas QUEIROZ
The SAF as an Instrument for the Reorganisation and Development of Brazilian Football
The Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) is a specific corporate form established by Law no. 14,193/2021,[1]which allows Brazilian football clubs to organise their football activities under a business structure.
With the enactment of the SAF Law in 2021, the ai...
29
May
2026
Unilateral Extension Options in Football Contracts – Finding the Right Balance Between Contractual Stability and Player Freedom - BY Mert KILIK
Abstract
Unilateral extension options in favour of clubs remain one of the most debated issues in football employment law. FIFA RSTP do not contain a general rule automatically prohibiting these clauses. Instead, the issue has largely been shaped by the case-law of the FIFA DRC and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Recent CAS jurisprudence co...
29
May
2026
Violence in the Dressing Room and Contractual Stability: The Training-Ground Incidents at Santos FC and Real Madrid CF and their Legal Implications under International Sports Law
This article examines two recent episodes of physical conflict that took place during training sessions at Santos FC - involving Neymar Jr. and the young Robinho Jr. - and at Real Madrid - between Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, establishing a parallel with the international legal framework governing contractual relations between...
29
May
2026
Verbal Misconduct of a Club Official May Lead to Partial Disciplinary Sanctions - By Aspa SOULOUKOU
Single Judge Disciplinary Body of the Super League, no. 41/6-2-2026; HFF Disciplinary Body, 20 February 2026
Right after the end of the match between AEK FC (AEK) and Olympiacos FC for the Superleague 2025-2026 season, which took place on 1 February 2026 at AEK’s home field, the owner of AEK reacted intensely after the 90+14th minute, when the referee awarded a penalty in favor of the visiting team, which was converted into an equalizing goal, bringing...
29
May
2026
The Crisis of Italian Football: Insights from the Resigning President of the Italian Football Federation on Long‑Awaited Reforms and EU Public Policy - By Stefano LA PORTA & Luigi PRIMICERIO
The failure of the Italian men’s national football team (Azzurri) to qualify - for the third time in a row - for the final stage of the FIFA World Cup marks an unprecedented sporting and institutional crisis in Italian football. Beyond its symbolic impact, this result has triggered an intense debate among the stakeholders and ultimately led to t...
29
May
2026
2026 J.League Legal Structural Reforms: Integration into the Global System - By Shogo TSUNODA
Introduction
Since its establishment in 1993, the Japan Professional Football League (J.League) has reached a paradigm shift in its history. The reforms to be implemented in 2026 constitute far more than mere adjustments to schedules or regulations. Rather, they represent a fundamental realignment intended to reposition J.League within the glob...
29
May
2026
Boavista Futebol Clube – From its Incorporation to Liquidation - By João NOGUEIRA DA ROCHA
Boavista Futebol Clube incorporated its Sports Public Limited Company (Sociedade Anónima Desportiva - SAD) on 31 August 2000, within the broader framework of the professionalisation and corporatisation of professional football in Portugal, under the corporate name “Boavista Futebol Clube, Futebol SAD”. Since its incorporation, the company has fo...
29
May
2026
Key Amendments to the Main Regulations of the Football Union of Russia - By Eugene KRECHETOV
At the end of 2025, the Bureau of the Executive Committee of the Football Union of Russia (FUR) approved amendments to its core regulations. The most significant changes are outlined below.
FUR Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
Possibility of Simultaneous Registration with two Clubs in Different Disciplines
It is established t...
29
May
2026
The Valverde-Tchouaméni Incident - By Juan de Dios CRESPO PÉREZ, Guillermo JIMÉNEZ QUIRÓS & Daniel LÓPEZ GÓMEZ
The altercation between Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni at Valdebebas[1] training ground on 7 May 2026,[2] and the resolution within less than 24 hours of the disciplinary proceedings resulting in a fine of EUR 500,000 for each player, constitute a case of extraordinary legal interest. This article analyses the regulatory framework gov...
29
May
2026
Who Regulates the Game? LaLiga’s Protocol and the Boundaries of Authority - The Limits of Private Regulation in Football: Real Madrid v. LaLiga - By Juan CRESPO RUIZ-HUERTA & Guillermo JIMENEZ QUIROS
What, at first glance, appeared on 20 February 2026 as a firm and consensual protocol to the eradication of violence, discrimination and harassment in Spanish professional football, ultimately evolved into a legal dispute involving some of Spain’s football powerhouses. The protocol promoted by LaLiga, institutionally endorsed by the Spanish Gove...
29
May
2026
LaLiga’s Strategy Against Audiovisual Piracy: Recent Actions and their Implications for the European Union - By Juan de Dios CRESPO PEREZ, Roberto Luis BRAVO FIGUEROA & José Carlos MEDINA
In recent months, the Spanish Professional Football League (LaLiga) has pursued an innovative anti-piracy strategy, achieving notable results. While the initial approach of this strategy focused on judicial action against specific illegal platforms, it has progressively shifted toward a broader model targeting virtual private network (VPN) servi...
29
May
2026
TMOK Elects Veli Ozan Çakir as New President: A Strategic Institutional Step for İstanbul 2027 and Türkiye’s 2036 Olympic Vision - By Emin ÖZKURT
The Extraordinary Elective General Assembly Meeting of the Turkish National Olympic Committee (TMOK) was held at the Olympic House in İstanbul on 4 April 2026, resulting in the election of Prof. Dr. Veli Ozan Çakır as the new President of TMOK. The General Assembly was attended by high-level representatives of the Turkish sports community, inclu...
29
May
2026
UAF’s Football Agent Regulations 2026 - By Andrii KHARITONCHUK
Under Article 3 of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR), every national association was required to implement its own national regulations consistent with the FFAR, with the option to introduce stricter measures or to deviate where mandatory provisions of national law so require.
In line with the above, the Ukrainian Association of Footb...
29
May
2026
Impact of Club-Led Player Registration and an Exceptional Cap on Transferred Players in Vanuatu’s New Professional League - By Peter PALEOLOGOS
Vanuatu’s football underwent a major shift toward professionalisation in 2026. The Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF), together with private interests, established Vanuatu FC, which joined the inaugural Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Professional League (which started in January 2026), making it the country’s first professional sports club....
29
May
2026
Regulating the Inevitable: Multi-Club Ownership and the Architecture of Sporting Integrity - By Andrea BOZZA & Samiksha MENON
Multi-club ownership has evolved from an exceptional governance model into a structural feature of contemporary football finance, generating regulatory challenges that existing integrity frameworks were not designed to address.
29
May
2026
Editorial of Football Legal # 24 (2026/1) - By Ronan DAVID
This 24th issue of Football Legal is built around several of the tensions currently running through professional football: investment and control, technology and consent, contractual stability and mobility, autonomy and judicial review, sporting integrity and economic expansion.
The Perspectives section reflects the breadth of those issues. Art...