What law applies to players' agents?
08.12.2008
Symposium of the Forum on International Sports Law at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law
On 8 December 2008, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg and the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law in Munich are jointly hosting a symposium examining the conduct of players' agents under national and international private law. Key aspects of the evening's event at the Hamburg Institute include ascertaining the legal designation of the new FIFA guidelines for players' agents as well as the rules maintained by the German Football Association (DFB) and German Football League (DFL). The resulting questions include: How much autonomy is possessed by the sporting clubs? "What is the inter-relation of national and international association guidelines? Do the new regulations conflict with European or national law?" An academic keynote discussion by sports law expert Prof. Dr. Johannes Wertenbruch will examine the conduct and regulation of players' agents from a legal perspective. Thereafter, symposium participants will offer some brief comments in prelude to a roundtable discussion. Panelists include: Matthias Hain (FC St. Pauli Team Member), Dr. Gregor Reiter (Director of the German Football Players' Agents Association), Holger Hieronymus (Vice CEO of the DFL), Dr. Frank Rybak (Counsel of the German Football Players Association- VDV) and a director from each of the participating Max Planck Institutes, Prof. Dr. Reinhard Zimmermann und Prof. Dr. Ulrich Becker.Much as a real estate broker serves as an intermediary between renters and landlords, players' agents represent the conduit from player to club. Their activities, moreover, frequently extend beyond acting as a contractual broker and include a variety of special assignments - from the organisation of media appearances to the investment of money. With the payment of bribes to trainers and the receipt of transfer commissions reaching into six figures, unscrupulous players' agents have, in recent years, been an unpleasant subject of attention.
The World Football Association (FIFA) responded to the issue by installing a licensing requirement such that all individuals who wish to act as players' agents must first be licensed from the controlling sporting association. FIFA has maintained this licensing requirement in their most recent 2007 guidelines. Any practicing attorney, however, is also permitted to represent a player and enter into negotiations with sporting clubs; consequently, the licensing obligation can be readily circumvented. In Germany, the German Football League (DFL) instituted a working group in the past year for the purpose of meeting FIFA's demand that guidelines be implemented at the national level. There is as well a need for action at the European level. According to the EU Commission's White Paper on Sport, the formulation of effective counter-measures is necessary.
On Monday, 8 December, the Sports Law Symposium at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law will broadly examine questions of increasing importance in respect of the conduct of players' agents. At issue is the classification and inter-relation of the various regulations which exists as well as the scope of their application. The symposium will address questions such as: What is the relationship between the national and international association regulations with state law? What impact do the new FIFA regulations on players' agents have on the activities of agents? Of what import are the rules set forth by the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL)? The Symposium is a combined effort of the Max Planck Institutes for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg as well as the Comparative and International Social Law in München and the Forum on International Sports Law.
Background Information:
Symposium Participants:
Prof. Johannes Wertenbruch:
Prof. Dr. Johannes Wertenbruch holds the Chair for Civil Law, Commercial Law and Business Law at the Philipps-Universität Marburg and is Director of the Institut für Handels- und Wirtschaftsrecht. His research emphases include sports law, competition law and company law. Prof. Johannes Wertenbruch will deliver the keynote address of the Sports Law Symposium „Die Tätigkeit von Spielervermittlern im nationalen und internationalen Privatrecht“.
Prof. Reinhard Zimmermann:
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Reinhard Zimmermann is Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg. As Director of the host Institute, Prof. Zimmermann will commence the symposium with some introductory remarks.
Prof. Ulrich Becker:
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Becker is the Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law in Munich and is also an Honorary Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Ulrich Becker will lead the panel discussion of the Sports Law Symposium.
Dr. Gregor Reiter:
Dr. Gregor Reiter is founder and director of the German Football Players' Agents Association and is an attorney in the fields of sports law and bankruptcy law. In the field of sports law he consults licensed clubs and players with regards to potential transfers in respect of the FIFA transfer regulations. Since 2008 he is one of two attorneys serving on the European Football Agents Associations (EFAA), the European umbrella organisation for all of the national football agents' associations.
Mathias Hain:
Mathias Hain was captain of DSC Arminia Bielefeld until 2008 before transferring this season to FC St. Pauli. The goalkeeper is a member of the players' counsel of the German Association of Football Players.
Holger Hieronymus:
Holger Hieronymus is vice-CEO and CEO of Competition for the DFL. He serves on the board of directors for the League Association and the DFB. The former Bundesliga player began his career with FC St. Pauli before transferring to Hamburger SV in the beginning of the 1980's where he competed for numerous national and international titles. He has been employed by the DFL since 2005.
Forum on International Sports Law
The Forum on International Sports Law is a discussion and information forum which emphasises international and European sports law. Once or twice year it holds lectures or symposia which are open to practitioners and scholars who are interested in those questions associated with sports law. The idea for such a forum stems from Professor Dr. Ingo von Münch, former professor of public law with the University of Hamburg. The forum is supported by the counsel at the legal department and by two lawyers from Hamburg who work in the field of sports law, Dr. Georg Engelbrecht and Dr. Mario Krogman. Also supporting the forum are the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law Hamburg, the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law Munich, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, the Max Planck Institute for Criminal Law in Freiburg and the Bucerius Law School Hamburg.