Tackling bridge transfers in football: An important ruling from the Royal Spanish Football Federation

In December 2019, the Jurisdictional Committee (Committee) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) issued an important decision[1] in a bridge transfer case filed by three clubs from Mallorca and a club from Barcelona (Club A) against a third division club from Mallorca (Club B) and against the intermediary of the player (the Player).  The claim related to the payment of training compensation on the signing of the Player’s first professional contract, and the Player’s immediate subsequent transfer (on loan) from Club B to a Greek club (Club C).

As far as the authors are aware, the Committee’s decision is unprecedented at national level[2] as it is the first time that the RFEF has invalidated a player’s license (i.e. the document issued by the RFEF that entitles a player to register and play for a team) several months after it was granted on the finding that the Player was registered fraudulently (i.e. without any intention to use his services, with the sole purpose of serving as a bridge club in his onward transfer to Greece). This allowed Club C to avoid having to pay training compensation under FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP).

This article examines:

• the facts;
• the complaint;
• the RFEF’s decision; and
• what the case means in the context of FIFA’s efforts to clamp down on bridge transfers.

This article assumes some prior knowledge of bridge transfers.  For readers wanting a broader introduction to what bridge transfers are and why they are a problem, please see this LawInSport article[3].