French players' union joins Dutch class action against FIFA after Diarra ruling

France's players' union has thrown its weight behind a mushrooming legal challenge to FIFA's transfer system, joining a Dutch-led class action that could involve 100,000 professional footballers seeking compensation over alleged lost income.

The French National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) said on Thursday its board unanimously decided to become a co-plaintiff in the "Justice for Players" (JfP) lawsuit, which stems from a European court ruling that found some FIFA transfer rules violate EU law.

The case centres on former Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, who was slapped with a 10 million euros ($11.66 million) fine by FIFA for leaving Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow one year into a four-year contract.

Last October, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that some FIFA transfer regulations breach European Union laws and free movement principles in the Diarra case, opening the floodgates for the wide-ranging legal challenge.

The Dutch players' group launched what they described as a "potentially billion-dollar" Europe-wide class action against FIFA last month, with JfP saying an estimated 100,000 male and female professional players are eligible to join.

'OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO JOIN CLASS ACTION'

"As a union representing more than 90 per cent of professional players in France, it is our responsibility to join this class action," UNFP president David Terrier said in a statement.

"Our main objective is to offer FIFA a new opportunity to sit down at the negotiating table with players' representatives in order to jointly develop new regulations that comply with European law and strike a fair balance between the interests of employees and employers."

Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.

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