A Belgian court has ruled FIFA and the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) share the blame for Lassana Diarra's transfer to Charleroi falling through in 2015 and must now pay the midfielder €6 million.
The court in Charleroi ruled FIFA had infringed EU law concerning the freedom of movement by stating that any club that signed Diarra could be jointly liable with the Frenchman to pay the €10m fine he owes Lokomotiv Moscow.
The former Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid man was hit with the massive fine for breaching his four-year deal with Lokomotiv, leaving the Russian club after just 12 months.
As a consequence of FIFA's declaration, Belgian club Charleroi pulled out of talks to sign Diarra in February 2015. He joined Marseille the following summer having not played for the entire 2014-15 season.
The court stated that FIFA had been at fault, denying Diarra the opportunity to ply his trade, but that the KBVB should have "assumed its responsibilities, and not servilely retreated behind this rule."
A statement from Diarra's lawyers said they would "now claim from FIFA and the URBSFA [KBVB] the total amount of the loss of earnings of Monsieur Diarra, that is to stay at least €6m."
FIFA and the KBVB are likely to appeal the decision, La Derniere Heure claims.