Doctrinal Analysis of the Hungarian and Romanian Transfer Market Regulation in Professional Football
Doctrinal Analysis of the Hungarian and Romanian Transfer Market Regulation in Professional Football

Summary/Abstract: This study explores the theoretical legal framework of the professional football player market and provides a comparative dogmatic assessment of the regulatory approaches adopted in Hungary and Romania. Utilising a normative analysis of the Hungarian and Romanian Sports Acts, the paper identifies critical doctrinal divergences in the treatment of player transfers. The Hungarian framework is found to be predicated on the theoretical inseparability of the right to play from the athlete, though a significant inconsistency exists where these rights function in practice as marketable assets, comparable to business shares. In contrast, the Romanian sports regulation integrates contemporary, FIFA-compliant considerations by explicitly codifying federative rights and restricting their assignment exclusively to sports structures, thereby preventing Third-Party Ownership. By contextualising these regulations within the historical “retain-and-transfer” system and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the research concludes that both jurisdictions align with global market mechanics through distinct dogmatic paths.

• Details
• Contents