He is a kind of martyr. So that current footballers could earn millions, he had to fight without being recognized.
Jean-Marc Bosman is a former Belgian player who after the abuses by football clubs against the professionals he got tired and filed a lawsuit without knowing that this would mark a before and after in the history of footballers. It all started in 1990 when his contract with the Belgian club RFC Liege ended. The team wanted to renew him, but since he had financial problems they only offered him 25% of his salary.
Then Dunkirk, from French football, appeared interested in him. But the Belgian team said it would not sell it for less than 4 times the value at which it had been purchased. This made Bosman explode, who considered this measure unfair and thus decided to fight for the “freedom of the footballers” by sue clubthe Belgian federation and UEFA for preventing his free movement of work like any citizen of the European Union.
Jean Marc Bosman
What was the renowned Bosman case?
He and his lawyers thought the process would last 2 weeks, but it ended up taking 5 years. Although he tried to revive his career as a footballer, his involvement in judicial process made him an unattractive player for the club ownersso he could not return to work as a professional again after the case.
After 5 years, without clear alternatives, tired, without money and out of shape, accepted 350,000 Swiss francs (about US$350,000) for damages in his victory in court. But from then on a new ordeal began. He started a soccer jersey business in which it did very poorly, and he also began to climb into tax debts.
From having it all to ending up broke: what happened to Jean-Marc Bosman
As if that were not enough, In 2011 he was convicted of violence against his girlfriend and in 2013 he went to prison for a year. That’s when the professional footballers’ union, Fifpro, appeared to help him. The former Belgian player is now a spokesperson for the union in the campaign it is carrying out to completely abolish payment for the signing of players, a battle of more than 125 years between clubs and footballers.
“Players should be considered workers, period. That’s what the Bosman law is about, and we need to get back there,” he said.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
