Many problems have recently surfaced in the football scene between club administrations and players and coaches who demand payment of the remainder of their financial dues as a result of those clubs not adhering to the contracts concluded between them and their players and coaches, and not fulfilling their obligations toward them. Among the most prominent phenomena that have appeared recently is that some players sign contracts with clubs while they are still registered with other clubs, taking advantage of certain legal matters that may be in their favor, and the manipulation of lawyers and brokers who entice them with the financial gains they may obtain from contracting with that club, or the illusory professional offers that players chase in order to move to one of the European clubs—especially Swiss ones—known for signing players who are still registered with their clubs and using temporary international cards for those players that help them play for them and then sell them to other European clubs, after which the player enters into legal disputes with his original club. Also among the most prominent cases in which non-respect for contracts is manifested is that clubs negotiate with players or obtain their signatures to play for them while the player is still registered with his club and not within the legal period allowed for negotiations or contracting with another club; examples of this are many, and many club administrations cry out because of such actions that big clubs engage in, without paying attention to anything, or without any moral or contractual restraint.​

It can be pointed out here to the mechanism of contracting between players and their clubs, as every player is bound by a contract with his club, and it must be time-limited. Usually there are three copies of the contract: one with the player himself, the second with the club in its official papers, and the third copy is always with the local federation to which the club belongs—and this is the most important point so that the local federation can be a judge in any dispute that arises between the player and his club. In the event that the local federation is unable to resolve the dispute between the player and the club, the player must resort to the dispute resolution committee at the international federation (FIFA), which is the decisive authority over the player, the club, and the local federation, and FIFA decisions allow no leniency or argument; examples are many of many professional players resorting to FIFA to settle the dispute, or even disputes that arise between the original club for which the player plays and the club to which the player moves as an intermediary.​

The contracting mechanism depends on the intermediary (or broker) between the two parties, the player and the club, and he is always called the player’s agent, and he must be accredited by FIFA so that matters proceed in a legal manner. Usually the broker receives a large percentage of the contract, which differs from one intermediary to another, and there are specific percentages set by FIFA, such that it is not less than 5% of the value of the contract—meaning the intermediary can win enormous sums in a single deal. From here it can be seen that the intermediary is always like a cunning fox, and from here it is also seen that the intermediary always says that more than one club was chasing the player, and this is a trick seen in many press conferences, until things settle with the club offering the highest price. The question that poses itself is: is this considered professionalism, and is belonging to money only the criterion and indicator, within this deviant system and not a professional one? So is there anyone to answer?​

Written by Dr. Hamada Al-Antabli.