The termination of professional football player's contract and the resolution process of disputes arising from termination

Professional football player's contracts have a substantial role in professional football, as they regulate the legal relationship between players and clubs. Because of the self-enclosed characteristic of professional football, it is usually not possible to come across with disputes which are made a matter of law between players and clubs. Generally, parties prefer to resort a dispute to the judgement at the termination process of a contract. The parties of contract are not free to apply to state courts in Turkey but they are free to apply to governing bodies of football in order to solve a contractual dispute. Applying to the football dispute resolution system has more advantages than applying to state courts, because disputes are resolved practically in a short span of time by arbiters who are experts on football, also the specificity of the sport is taken into consideration. In this regard, nationally the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), and internationally the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport have jurisdiction to resolve disputes between players and clubs. Although there is a similarity with regards to basic principles, the structure of the TFF and international dispute resolution systems are different. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the termination of football player's contract, disputes arising thereof and national and international dispute resolution processes.