Jean-Marc Bosman (; born 30 October 1964) is a Belgian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. His

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

challenge of the football transfer rules led to the

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of associati ...

in 1995. This landmark judgement, which was handed down by the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

, completely changed the way footballers are employed, allowing professional players in the

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to move freely to another club at the end of their contract with their present team.

Career and trial

Prior to the landmark trial for which he became known, Bosman played for Belgian first division club

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

and

RFC Liège Royal Football Club de Liège (more commonly known as RFC Liège) is a professional football club based in Liège, capital of Liège Province, Belgium. The team currently play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier in Belgian football. It ...

, and also won 20 caps for Belgium at youth level, even captaining the under-21 side for a time. He joined the former club in 1983, before moving to RFC Liège in 1988. When his contract with the latter club had expired two years later, he attempted to join French club

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

in 1990, at the age of 25; however, Liège valued him at a fee of approximately £500,000, and insisted that the French club pay in full up front. When they refused, Liège refused to agree to the transfer, and cut Bosman's wages by 75% to £500 per month. This led Bosman to challenge the system legally and bring his case to court; he sued Liège, the Belgian FA, and

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

, arguing that the rules set out by UEFA, which prevented him from leaving his club even though his contract had expired, amounted to a breach of his rights established in the 1957

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

, which allowed freedom of movement within the European Community, now the European Union. As a result, his club suspended him. While the trial was ongoing Bosman played briefly in the French lower leagues for second division club Saint-Quentin, and on the Indian Ocean island of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. On 15 December 1995, the European Court of Justice ruled that players should be free to move when their contracts had expired, and that EU clubs could hire any number of European Union players.

After the ruling

Despite the legal victory, Bosman faced significant financial and personal difficulties following the landmark trial. In a 2011 interview, he claimed that the compensation he earned from FIFPro and the courts were largely spent on legal fees, which ultimately left him bankrupt; furthermore, his marriage also ended during his legal battles and trial. Some of his money was also lost due to a bad investment in a special T-shirt line. Bosman hoped that the players who benefited from the Bosman ruling would support him by buying one of his "Who's the Boz" T-shirts. He sold only one, to the son of his lawyer. He also hoped to play a testimonial match, which eventually fell through, however, although he ultimately played a match against

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

in front of only approximately 2,000 spectators. In order to pay his taxes, he was forced to sell his second house and his Porsche Carrera. He struggled to find work after the ruling, and ended up living on welfare. As a result of his financial difficulties and his claimed ostracism by the world of football, Bosman fell into depression and also struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In April 2013 Bosman was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, later reduced to community service on appeal, following an assault in 2011 on both his girlfriend at the time and her 15-year-old daughter allegedly over his girlfriend's refusal to give him an alcoholic drink. As of 2015, Bosman was unemployed and relying on handouts from FIFPro. In 2020, Bosman was interviewed by David Ginola for the

BT Sport TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as B ...

documentary ''Bosman: The Player Who Changed Football''.

Personal life

Bosman has two sons, the elder Martin, and the younger Samuel.

References

External links

FamousBelgians.net: Jean-Marc Bosman

* ttp://www.bosmanruling.co.uk BosmanRuling.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosman, Jean-Marc 1964 births Living people Belgian men's footballers Footballers from Liège Standard Liège players RFC Liège players Ligue 2 players Belgian Pro League players Belgian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Belgium Olympique Saint-Quentin players Men's association football midfielders 20th-century Belgian sportsmen