Jean-Marc Bosman (; born 30 October 1964) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. His judicial challenge of the football transfer rules led to the Bosman ruling in 1995.
This landmark judgement, which was handed down by the European Court of Justice, completely changed the way footballers are employed, allowing professional players in the European Union to move freely to another club at the end of their contract with their present team.
Club career
Standard Liège
Bosman joined the youth team at Belgian First Division club Standard Liège and he was included in the senior squad for the first time during the 1982 Intertoto Cup, debuting for the club on 7 October 1982 during the 3–1 victory against First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) club Cherno More. Ahead of the 1983–84 season, Bosman was fully integrated into the Standard Liège senior team in the Belgian First Division. He made his league debut for the club on 7 April 1984 during the 2–0 loss against K.S.K. Beveren, and finished as a runner-up in the 1983–84 Belgian Cup, being an unused substitute in the final. He was also an Intertoto Cup group winner in 1984.
He scored his first goal for Standard Liège on 19 May 1985 during the 2–2 draw against KSV Waregem as the club finished in third place during the 1985–86 season. He finished as a runner-up in the Belgian Cup again with Standard Liège in 1987–88, He debuted for RFC Liège as a second-half substitute during the 3–0 victory against Royal Charleroi on 13 August 1988, and he scored his only goal for the club on 8 April 1989 during the 4–0 victory against Cercle Brugge.
In his first season at the club, they finished in third place in the Belgian First Division.
Saint-Quentin
After a failed move to Dunkerque in 1990, He scored on his debut during the 2–1 victory against US Orléans on 24 December 1990. He had left Saint-Quentin in late March 1991, shortly after they went into liquidation.
Later career
In January 1992 he joined Réunion Premier League club Saint-Denis where he scored four goals in fifteen matches for the club; he left in August 1992.
He joined Belgian Third Division club Olympic Charleroi in 1994 and scored twice for the club. In late December 1995 he left to join Belgian Fourth Division club C.S. Visé where he retired in August 1996 after scoring once in seven matches for the club.
International career
Bosman made twenty-four appearances for Belgium U21 between 1984 and 1986; he was the team captain of Belgium U21 by 1986. He played for Belgium U21 during the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying.
After the ruling
Despite the legal victory, Bosman faced significant financial and personal difficulties following the landmark trial. In a 2011 interview, he claimed that the compensation he earned from FIFPro and the courts were largely spent on legal fees, which ultimately left him bankrupt; furthermore, his marriage also ended during his legal battles and trial. Some of his money was also lost due to a bad investment in a special T-shirt line. Bosman hoped that the players who benefited from the Bosman ruling would support him by buying one of his "Who's the Boz" T-shirts. He sold only one, to the son of his lawyer. He struggled to find work after the ruling,
In April 2013 Bosman was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, later reduced to community service on appeal, following an assault in 2011 on both his girlfriend at the time and her 15-year-old daughter allegedly over his girlfriend's refusal to give him an alcoholic drink.
As of 2015, Bosman was unemployed and relying on handouts from FIFPro.
In 2020, Bosman was interviewed by David Ginola for the BT Sport documentary Bosman: The Player Who Changed Football.
Personal life
Bosman has two sons.
- Belgian Cup: runner-up 1983–84, 1987–88
- Intertoto Cup: group winner 1984
RFC Liège
- Belgian First Division: third place 1988–89
References
External links
- FamousBelgians.net: Jean-Marc Bosman
- Uefa.com abridged interview: 2005 Interview with Jean-Marc Bosman
- BosmanRuling.co.uk