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What is the Webster Ruling?

Thursday, 11. 12. 2009 – Category: Guide to Football Transfer Rumours

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The Webster ruling can be seen as the next step ion from the Bosman Ruling n the migration of power from clubs to players. Andy Webster, the Scotland defender broke his contract with Hearts with the intention of moving to rangers, achieved a similar landmark in football transfer regulations that Jean-Marc Bosman did 2 years earlier.

What exactly was the Webster Case?

The Webster case was essentially a test case for determining whether a clause in FIFA’s Player transfer regulations. The specific rule questioned was ‘Consequences of Terminating a Contract Without Just Cause’ (Article 17) in the ‘Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players’ (http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/status_transfer_en_25.pdf) which states that players outside of the protected period may buy themselves out of a contract. The protected period for players under 28 years is three years (or seasons) from the date that they sign the contract, regardless of the length of the consequences. For players over 28, the protected period is only 2 years.
Webster’s case specifically occurred when he was playing for Hearts, in July 2005, Rangers made an approach and Webster requested a discussion with them. Hearts refused this request, and after a dispute with the owner of the club, Webster was kept out of the squad for the remainder of that season.
In court, Hearts placed Webster’s value at £5 million, however the arbitration process determined that the correct fee (based on his wages and future earnings) was £625,000, this amount was payable by the player. Webster went on to appeal this amount and the fee was subsequently reduced to £150,000.

What were the consequences of the Webster Case?

There were initial fears that the Webster case would result in a large number of players buying out their contracts and moving. So far this hasn’t happened. Apart from Webster, the highest profile move was Jonas Gutierrez from Mallorca to Newcastle. Nevertheless, the option now exists for players to do one when their contract reaches the three year mark. Which means in turn, clubs need to give players deals more regularly to ensure they don’t reach the 2/3 year mark on their contract.