FIFA facing legal action from agents who claim they have missed out on huge fees

FIFA are facing the threat of a multi-million pound legal action from agents who claim to have lost out on huge commissions due to the bungled implementation of new regulations.

The world governing body took the shock decision to suspend new rules which limit agent commission to three per cent of transfer fees on Saturday afternoon, just 36 hours before today's opening of the European window.

FIFA's surprise move followed a private arbitration hearing in this country in November, when several UK-based agents succeeded in blocking the FA's plans to introduce the new rules, as well as a series of court rulings in Germany and Spain which deemed the proposed restrictions to be unlawful.

The case will now be heard by the European Court of Justice [ECJ], with FIFA opting to halt the implementation of regulations which will also force agents to make all their fees public and prevent them representing both a club and player in the same transaction.

Whilst happy at what they have perceived as a climbdown from FIFA, several leading agents have told Mail Sport that the controversy has already cost them huge sums in commissions, and that they will sue to recover lost earnings.

FIFA announced the rule changes last January before they were formally introduced in October, with the result that some agents operated with reduced commissions for most of last year and will continue to do so this month having revised contracts with their clients to meet the three per cent cap.

In addition, several agents claim to have lost clients due to the uncertainty surrounding the new rules.

One top agent told Mail Sport: 'The legal advice was clear from the outset that the new regulations are unlawful, but FIFA were determined to introduce them come what