At its recent meeting, the Disciplinary Committee decided that players are not to be considered a “third party” in the sense of definition 14 and art. 18ter of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP).

In four distinct cases, the clubs SV Werder Bremen (Germany), Panathinaikos FC (Greece), CSD Colo-Colo (Chile) and Club Universitario de Deportes (Peru) had entered into agreements with some of their  respective players that entitled them (i.e. the players) to receive a specific compensation – a lump sum or a percentage – in case of their future transfer to another club.

Such amounts promised to the players were seen as part of the remuneration due to the players under their employment relationships with their clubs. Consequently, the Disciplinary Committee found that the players could not be considered a third party with respect to their own future transfers and, therefore, the fact that they may receive a specific compensation – regardless of it being a lump sum or a percentage – in relation to their future transfer to a new club is not considered a violation of FIFA’s rules on third-party ownership of players’ economic rights.

In addition to the above conclusions on the applicability of art. 18ter of the RSTP, the Disciplinary Committee analysed the possible violation of art. 18bis of the RSTP by the clubs CSD Colo-Colo and Universitario de Deportes.

In this respect, after a thorough analysis of the transfer agreement concluded between said clubs,  they were found to have breached the rules on third-party influence (art. 18bis of the RSTP, 2015 edition) and committed other violations of the RSTP. As a result, the following sanctions were imposed: