The answers to your questions: FIFA, the suspension of Tony Yoka, the ethics bonus, Neymar...

What is FIFA?

The International Federation of Association Football brings together 211 member associations and 6 confederations that operate at the continental level (African Football Confederation CAF, Asian Football Confederation AFC, the European Union of Football Association UEFA, the European Union of Football Association UEFA). FIFA organizes international competitions (the World Cup), UEFA organizes the Champions League or the EURO, and the national federations organize the national competitions. FIFA has a regulatory role: it will establish rules related to competitions. It will create committees such as the Dispute Resolution Chamber. It is a non-profit association but with a turnover of 5.65 billion euros over the period 2015-2018.

What organization is responsible for the suspension of Tony Yoka?

The sanction was pronounced by the French anti-doping agency FLD created in 2006. Several roles:

• preventive measures with federations
• implementation of anti-doping controls
• management of authorizations for use for therapeutic purposes for medicinal products that are in principle prohibited
• a disciplinary role

The scale is provided for in article L232-23 of the Sports Code, which provides for sanctions that can range from a simple warning to a temporary or even permanent ban on exercising. These sanctions may also be accompanied by financial penalties. An FLD decision can be appealed to the Council of State.

Are we allowed to remove an ethics bonus from a player?

It is a financial advantage granted by a club for the benefit of the employee in return for certain obligations:

• adopt a good behavior towards teammates or opponents
• respect its commitments to the media
• Have a certain attendance and punctuality in training
• Have a good attitude towards your fans

Can it be removed? Yes and no, in France we have this prohibition for the employer to impose financial sanctions against the employee.

What is image rights?

It is the right of everyone to their image and requires prior authorization for its use. Exception for current topics, historical subjects or for public figures in the context of a public event. Three types of image rights:

• individual outside the club: the player maintains control of his image and marketing.
• individual as part of the club: the club has the option of using the image of a player for promotional purposes. This exploitation is provided for as part of an amendment to the player's employment contract.
• collective player: right for a certain number of players that allows an exemption from social security contributions for clubs.

We are moving towards exploiting the reputation of players.

How do you deal with a player's comments? (Neymar press conference)

There is a balancing of the rights of freedom of expression and the employer's power to direct and punish when the player does not respect his obligations of good conduct. Ultimately, it will be up to the court seized to determine whether the sanction taken by the employer is proportionate to the employee's breach.

What is a release clause?

It is a clause that allows a player to unilaterally break the contract that binds him to the club. Generally an amount is provided. This is the case of the Neymar case in 2017 where the latter activated his release clause with FC Barcelona for an amount of 222 million euros. Through PSG, he was able to pay and unilaterally terminate his contract. In general, setting an exorbitant amount to limit the activation of the clause:

- case of the case of Gareth Bale at Real Madrid in the amount of 1.2 billion euros

-Case of the Cristiano Ronaldo case at Juventus worth 1 billion euros

This system is authorized in several EU countries but is strictly forbidden in France. The Sports Code and the administrative regulations of the Professional Football League expressly prohibit it. To get around it, it is possible to sign a contract under private signature.

Does an injured footballer get paid?

A footballer is above all an employee, so he has the possibility of being compensated by social security (SS), which will take care of 50% of his salary limited to the SS ceiling (3 377€/month). In principle, total maintenance for the first 3 months: the club will therefore pay the supplement via insurance. Beyond 3 months, concerning the supplement:

• The club has subscribed to a collective pension guarantee
• the player has taken out an individual pension plan.

The player can also take out personal injury insurance offered by the Federations. He can turn against the player who injured him in the context of a liability action: Affaire Blondeau (Marseillais)/Deroff (Nantes).