Third-party ban upheld

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World Football’s ruling body said the local court in Brussels rejected legal arguments that the ban which took effect in May broke European Union competition laws.

The case to suspend implementing the ban was brought by lawyers for the Doyen Sports Investments fund and Belgian second-division club Seraing United.

Third-party ownership (TPO) has been banned in the Premier League since 2008 but it was popular with agents, investors and clubs in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

They argue it let clubs sign players who otherwise cost too much.

However, critics claim the investment model sucked money from football, caused players to be transferred for profit-taking rather than sporting reasons and threatened the game’s integrity.

The FIFA ban followed a two-year campaign by UEFA, whose president Michel Platini branded the practice as “slavery.”

“Today, it’s shameful to see some players with one of their arms belonging to one person, a leg belonging to a funds pension located who knows where, and a third person owning his foot,” Plantini said in March.

“It is shameful; we’re dealing with a type of slavery that belongs to the past.”