Key facts
- EU top court adviser recommended overturning homegrown player quotas in football.
- Rules require clubs to have at least eight homegrown players per game.
- Homegrown players must have trained in the same national league for at least three years between ages 15 and 21.
- The adviser cited potential indirect discrimination against foreign players and incoherent definitions.
A legal bid to dismantle European football's homegrown player quotas, which some likened to the landmark Bosman ruling, has suffered a significant setback. Advocate General Maciej Szpunar, an adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union, recommended that the court overturn the rules. These regulations mandate that clubs reserve a certain number of spots on their roster for players trained within their national league. Szpunar argued that the rules could indirectly discriminate against players from other EU member states and that their definition of 'homegrown' is inconsistent. The case was brought forward by Belgian club Royal Antwerp, which contended that the quotas unfairly restrict clubs' ability to recruit players and infringe upon EU freedom of movement rights. While the advocate general's opinion is not binding, it often influences the final ruling by the court's judges.