The European Union's top court ruled on Friday that certain FIFA regulations regarding player transfers may conflict with EU laws on competition and freedom of movement.

The ruling followed a legal challenge by former France international Lassana Diarra, stemming from a contractual dispute with a football club that began a decade ago.

Diarra had signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013, but the agreement was terminated a year later after Diarra expressed dissatisfaction with alleged pay cuts.

Lokomotiv Moscow sought compensation through FIFA's dispute resolution chamber, while Diarra countered with a claim for unpaid wages. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of the Russian club, concluding that the contract was terminated "with just cause," and ordered Diarra to pay 10.5 million euros ($11.2 million) in compensation.

Diarra argued that FIFA's rules, which made any new club jointly responsible for paying compensation to Lokomotiv, hindered his ability to find a new team.

"The rules in question impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to continue their careers with a new club," the court said in its statement.

Diarra also claimed that a potential transfer to Belgian club Charleroi fell apart due to FIFA’s regulations and sued FIFA and the Belgian Football Federation in a Belgian court for damages, seeking six million euros ($7 million) for lost earnings. The Belgian court referred the case to the European Court of Justice for a ruling.

The case, which has the backing of the global players' union FIFPro, has passed through FIFA’s judicial bodies before the election of FIFA president Gianni Infantino in 2016, who has since prioritized reforming the transfer system.

AP