FIFA has created a special transfer window for foreign players stuck in Russia. The move is to facilitate foreign players who are able to suspend their contracts if no agreement is reached before March 10th.
“In order to facilitate the departure of foreign players and coaches from Russia, in the event that clubs affiliated to the Football Union of Russia (FUR) do not reach a mutual agreement with their respective foreign players and coaches before or on 10 March 2022 … the foreign players and coaches will have the right to unilaterally suspend their employment contracts with the FUR-affiliated clubs in question until the end of the season in Russia (30 June 2022),” FIFA said in a statement.
Russian athletes including football players cannot participate in any competition after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The special transfer window will allow the contacts to be suspended until the end of this season allowing players and coaches to work elsewhere, and they would then be free to move on permanently next season. FIFA explained the move was chiefly to provide players and coaches with the opportunity to work and receive a salary, and to protect Ukrainian clubs brought to a halt by invasion.
Minor players fleeing Ukraine will be treated by FIFA as refugee minors, allowing them access to the international transfer market normally closed to under-18s.
FIFA who have already banned Russia from the 2022 World Cup but risk an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), “reiterated its condemnation of the use of force by Russia in Ukraine” and called for “a speedy cessation of hostilities”.
FIFA’s move is only a temporary measure that will not provide much help, the players’ union (FIFPRO) said, demanding that players should be allowed to terminate their contracts.
