The impact of pandemic coronavirus COVID-19 on professional football contracts

The crisis created by pandemic coronavirus COVID-19 reflects a lot of bad consequences on the global level, all over the world. But we choose a topic to be discussed in this brief article. Indeed, many fields have been affected by the impacts of dissemination and proliferation of this pandemic, but one of the important world-wide impacts of this pandemic is the effect imposed on professional football contracts. It is well-known that almost all the European football leagues, including the famous English premier league, the Spanish la liga, the Italian calico, the German bundesliga have been postponed until the next mid-summer or later date. Some legal questions may be put forward, in this context, to shed light on two legal questions: the first question : may the professional football contract be extended after because of the postponement of the football season?. The second question: may the professional football contract be discharged or rescinded by frustration, in spite of the obligatory extension of the current season?. Therefore, we shall attempt to answer these two important questions about the fate of the professional football contracts heavily affected by the rapid spreading of pandemic coronavirus COVID-19. Considering the instructions of both the (FIFA) and (EUFA), and supporting our legal analysis by some texts and provisions of the Iraqi civil law No.40 of 1951 ,if any.

1-The first question: may the professional football contract be extended after because of the postponement of the football season?. It is common ground that professional football contracts are annual contracts, which must be renewed every year, at the end of each season, if both the management of the football club and the player agreed on the renewal. The renewal of the contract include both the regular players within the line-up of the team, and the players on loan from other clubs. If an agreement is to be reached between the two clubs on this matter. According to the regulations of both the (FIFA) and (EUFA), the end date of the professional football contracts is usually the end of June of every year. And July is the period of registration of new players from other clubs, before the beginning of the new football season at mid-august. In almost all the European countries. But because the far-reaching dissemination of pandemic coronavirus COVID-19 at the beginning of this year, the all football league championships have been postponed until mid-summer, if circumstances improve. This has imposed an obvious legal impact of professional football contracts. This impact is embodied by the extension of these contracts. Without this extension, almost certainly all the clubs will lose the service of at least (25%) of the players registered in the clubs. Of course, the Iraqi civil law does not include any text similar to the regulations of both the (FIFA) and (EUFA). But I think that our national football clubs may resort to both the express and tacit renewal of the contracts concluded with their players, at least for one additional year. In order to complete the current season. The football contracts may be classified, in conformity with the texts of the Iraqi civil law, as contracts of enterprise or craftsman's contracts. The player is considered as a contractor undertaking to render work, in return for the wage or even the salary to be payed by the other party, the management of the club (the employer). But because the articles of the craftsman's contract in the Iraqi civil law does not contain any text regulating the renewal of the contract, we can borrow this text, by analogy, from the article (780) of the Iraqi civil law, which regulates the renewal of the contract of lease, whether the renewal be express or implied (tacit). The article provides that (1- where the lease terms has expired and the lessee has continued to enjoy the leased property, with the knowledge of and without an objection being made by the lessor. The lessee is deemed to have been renewed according to its original conditions, but for an indefinite term. The lease which has been renewed in this manner shall be subject to the provisions of article 741. 2-This tacit renewal is deemed to be a new lease, and not a mere extension of the original lease, the securities in rem that had been provided for the original lease, shall nevertheless be transferred to the new lease. The security be it in rem or in person, shall not be transferred to the new lease unless the surety has so accepted). It is clear from this text that tacit renewal of the contract is considered, under the Iraqi civil law, as a new contract, and not a mere extension of the original contract.

2- The second question: may the professional football contract be discharged or rescinded by frustration, in spite of the obligatory extension of the current season?. If we look at the proliferation of the pandemic coronavirus COVID-19 as a force-majeure, the football clubs can discharge some of the contracts by frustration or impossibility of execution. Particularly, when the player suffers from this virus. This rescission is based legally on two theories, that is to say, the radical change in the obligations theory, and the implied term theory. In the Iraqi civil law, the general rule of the article (168) exonerates the debtor from his or her obligations, due to the impossibility of the performance of the obligation, and the contract may be discharged. This article provides that (if it is impossible for the oblige of a contract to perform his or her obligation specifically in rem, he or she will be adjudged to pay damages for non-performance of the obligation, unless he or she establishes that the impossibility of the performance was due to a cause beyond his or her control; the adjudication will be the same if the obligee has delayed the performance of the obligation). The legislator also ruled that the craftsman's contract should be discharged, by the impossibility of the performance of the obligation. According to the first section of the article (168) of the Iraqi civil law, which provides that (A craftsman's contract comes to an end by the impossibility of execution of the work the subject matter of the contract).