17.02.2016 17:27 h

German league relieved as tribunal backs club in test case

The German Football League (DFL) has admitted being relieved after a regional industrial tribunal in Germany on Wednesday ruled that temporary contracts are permissible in professional football.

"We are delighted about this clear vote from the Rhineland-Pfalz industrial tribunal," said the DFL in a statement.

Former Bundesliga goalkeeper Heinz Mueller, 37, and his ex-club Mainz are in dispute about whether short-term contracts are permissible in the professional game.

There had been fears here of far-reaching consequences, similar to those achieved across European football by the Bosman Ruling in 1995, had the regional tribunal ruled in favour of Mueller.

Having initially joined Mainz in 2009, Mueller signed a two-year extension with the club in 2012.

But he had to leave the club in 2014 after his contract expired and he was not offered an extension after falling out with Mainz's then-coach Thomas Tuchel.

He successfully took his case to an industrial tribunal in March 2015 as he felt there had been an "establishment of the continued existence of a permanent employment relationship".

In short, Mainz's industrial tribunal ruled Mueller had the right to expect his contract to be extended having spent a reasonable amount of time working for the club.

It could have led to other players suing their clubs, if their contracts were not extended after a certain length of service.

Mainz took their appeal to a higher level and, a year later, the regional industrial tribunal in Rhineland-Pfalz overturned the decision and backed the football club on Wednesday.

Mueller, who has been without a club since July 2014, has not been awarded the 429,000 euros ($477,378) he was seeking in compensation.

The goalkeeper can now appeal to Germany's Federal Labour Court (BAG) and even the European Court of Justice, but -- for now at least -- a Bosman Ruling-style scenario has been avoided.

"This is a good decision for football -- and all team sports in the world," said Mainz's team manager Christian Heidel.

"Otherwise, the whole system would have been unhinged."

The presiding judge, Michael Bernardi, said the "nature of the work of professional footballers, taking into account the sectoral specifications of team sports, is an objective reason for temporary work contracts".

In his 80-minute hearing, Bernardi said that footballers cannot expect normal conditions of employment because of the "nature of the job."

"Professional football has become very similar to the entertainment industry," said Bernardi.

In 1995, Belgian midfielder Jean-Marc Bosman won what became known as the Bosman ruling when the European Court of Justice banned restrictions on foreign EU players within national leagues.

It allowed players in the EU to move to another club at the end of a contract without a transfer fee being paid.