Doyen Sports To Challenge TPO In Brussels Claiming Ban Busts EU Law

An investment company supporting third party ownership will "challenge FIFA's global ban" on the practice at what could be a "ground-breaking hearing" in Brussels next week, according to Andrew Warshaw of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Investment company Doyen Sports will be represented by, among others, Jean Louis Dupont, the lawyer who successfully defended footballer Jean-Marc Bosman in the mid-'90s, which "led to the so-called Bosman ruling that changed the face of the transfer system." Dupont, who is also involved in a separate unconnected case challenging UEFA's financial fair play regulations, will be "part of Doyen's legal counsel arguing that the TPO ban, which came into effect a few weeks ago, goes against a number of the European Union's fundamental freedoms and national competition rules." The public hearing takes place at the Brussels Court of First Instance on Monday, where Doyen will "defend its TPO model against FIFA's unilateral ban" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 7/9).