June 30 . That is the date that marks the end of the contracts for footballers in Spain, the last day of the official season and the start of the transfer market. The work rates of players and clubs are set for that last day of June. However, the coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed all competitions could turn it into one more day than the remaining 11, perhaps the second if LaLiga forecasts are met, and it will take many players without a contract , either because they end their connection and They have not renewed, either because the transfer to a certain team by those who have their federative rights expires. In what legal situation are these professionals?
LaLiga and the AFE , employers and unions, are at odds over how and when the competition resumes and how it would affect these free players in an environment of wage cuts and Ertes . Nor is there a unanimous position among the sports law experts consulted by EL MUNDO, who warn of the need to reach agreements as quickly as possible and without resorting to the courts. Ad hoc negotiations, extension of the season concept, and even government decrees ... The options are various, but none are happy for the moment.
The only point of agreement is that FIFA's proposal to extend contracts automatically is not feasible and conflicts with national legislation. Decree 1006/85 , which regulates the labor rights of professional athletes, states in its article 6 that their contracts will be "always of fixed duration", and that they can only be extended "through agreements". The AFE clings to this legislation to defend that it is not possible to expand them unilaterally. "We are in a situation of alarm, not of illegality," recalls María José López, co-director of the union's legal department.
In these contracts, the fixed duration appears, both the number of seasons and the exact start and end date. And this is where the lawyer Santiago Nebot opens a door to government intervention to solve this problem. «The Federation organizes the competition by delegation from the CSD, from the Government, and states in article 187.1 of its Regulations that the official season will begin on July 1 of each year and will end on June 30 of the following year. However, this article could be modified due to the exceptional situation that we are experiencing, as has been done with other decrees, which would allow the definition of the season to be adapted to what FIFA includes in its Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players » , Nebot details. These FIFA Regulations say that the season "begins with the first official match of the corresponding national league championship and ends with the last official match."
In this way, since the contractual duration with the players could be interpreted based on seasons, the contracts could be in force until the end of the current one, beyond June 30. "But, probably, there would be players who would challenge this decision and it would be left to a judge, " he warns. This is the path that the AFE would initiate, understanding that there has been "a change in the substantial conditions of the contract . " "We are in a state of law and we are going to preserve it. I don't think anyone wants to change the law. Furthermore, we believe that it is logical to reach agreements, but without putting pressure on the players, "warns María José López.
This individual negotiation would avoid lawsuits, but would turn the month of May into a market for renewals that should be ad hoc , in the opinion of the expert Juan de Dios Crespo . "I see no possibility of a generic AFE-Liga agreement. The solution will be individual negotiations, where the player and the club, including a third party with whom he could have signed in recent months, agree to all the conditions. In fact, the lawyer warns that the renewals could lead to a drop in wages due to the impact of the suspension, or that it is even the teams themselves who do not want to sit down to negotiate and leave the player unemployed until the opening of the next window of market.
Seasonal contract or for exact dates?
The standard contract model of a professional player includes, in the duration clause, two concepts: season, on the one hand, and exact effective date, on the other. It is here where there is a loophole that the courts should settle and that generates doubts for the soccer players. That is: is the definition that makes the season accepted by FIFA? If so ("from the first official party to the last", without establishing dates), there would be scope to expand them all, but -see attached document- immediately afterwards the effective dates appear. And of course, many doubts arise.
«If you have already signed with another club for the 20/21 season, could you be claimed on July 1 to play the rest of the 19/20? Not in my opinion, because the 19/20 season does not have a start date nor are registrations allowed », explains Nebod. "Who would pay the salary from July 1 until he joins the new team, which perhaps has better conditions?" Asks Juan de Dios Crespo. Doubts.
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