​The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has raised doubts on the legality of some rules for player agents set up by the world governing football body FIFA.The ECJ said on Thursday that for instance a rule prohibiting agents from approaching a player or coach bound by an exclusive representation agreement outside a certain time frame could be “incompatible with the prohibition on cartels” because it would give other agents who are already bound by an exclusive representation agreement and can conclude contracts outside of that time frame “an undue advantage.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Strasbourg judges however said that a final decision will always lie with the court dealing with such a matter.The RRC company had sought an injunction against some of the FIFA regulations at a district court in Mainz, Germany, which then requested a ruling from the ECJ.Contested were rules including multiple representation, remuneration of agents, obtaining a FIFA licence and the communication of certain data to FIFA.The ECJ said that FIFA rules limiting multiple representation and agent licence rules “constitute obstacles to that fundamental freedom.”But it said it was up to a court to ultimately assess “whether those obstacles to the freedom to provide services can be justified by a legitimate objective in the public interest” in areas including protecting players and coaches from abusive practices by agents.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFIFA has said that the rules are needed to maintain the integrity of the game and to ensure transparency and expressed satisfaction with Thursday’s ruling.It said that the ECJ “supports key elements” of its regulations and “confirms FIFA’s regulatory authority in relation to football agents.”The ruling comes a week after the ECJ ruled on a similar case between agents Rogon and the German Football Federation (DFB) that DFB agent regulations “may fall within an exception to the prohibition on cartels.”That case has moved to Germany’s highest court, the Federal Court of Justice.