FIFA can not implement new rules for football agents as a German court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal from the ruling body against a previous interim injunction.
The higher regional court in Düsseldorf confirmed an earlier ruling from a district court in Dortmund which is looking into whether the FIFA regulations violated antitrust laws.
The court said that interim injunction remains in place until the end of Dortmund prodeedings, naming its ruling final.
The FIFA regulations originally came into force in January 2023 to establish a fairer and more transparent football transfer system, including a mandatory FIFA license for agents, the prohibition of multiple representation to avoid conflicts of interest, and the introduction of a cap on agent fees.
FIFA had advised national federations in late 2023 not to implement the new regulations, pending the legal action started by several agents, not only in Germany, and the case also referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The Dortmund court had also imposed administrative fines of €150,000 ($164 million) on FIFA and the German federation DFB over the issue.
