Asser International Sports Law Blog

Our International Sports Law Diary
The Asser International Sports Law Centre is part of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut

International and European Sports Law – Monthly Report – June 2016. By Kester Mekenkamp

Editor’s note: This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on International and European Sports Law based on the daily coverage provided on our twitter feed @Sportslaw_asser. You are invited to complete this survey via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we might have overlooked.   


The headlines

What a month June turned out to be. Waking up the morning after the 23rd, the results of the UK referendum on EU membership were final. The words of Mark Twain: “Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today”, might provide the most apt description of the mood felt at the time.[1] The Leave campaign’s narrow victory has brought along tremendous economic, political and legal uncertainties for both the UK and the (other) Member States. To give but one example, with regard to the implications of Brexit on Europe’s most profiting football league, we recommend an older blog by Daniel Geey and Jonny Madill. More...


The EU State aid and sport saga: The Showdown

It’s been a long wait, but they’re finally here! On Monday, the European Commission released its decisions regarding State aid to seven Spanish professional football clubs (Real Madrid on two occasions) and five Dutch professional football clubs. The decisions mark the end of the formal investigations, which were opened in 2013. The Commission decided as follows: no State aid to PSV Eindhoven (1); compatible aid to the Dutch clubs FC Den Bosch, MVV Maastricht, NEC Nijmegen and Willem II (2); and incompatible aid granted to the Spanish football clubs Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Valencia CF, Athletic Bilbao, Atlético Osasuna, Elche and Hércules (3). 

The recovery decisions in particular are truly historic. The rules on State aid have existed since the foundation of the European Economic Community in 1958, but it is the very first time that professional football clubs have been ordered to repay aid received from (local) public authorities.[1] In a way, these decisions complete a development set in motion with the Walrave and Koch ruling of 1974, where the CJEU held that professional sporting activity, and therefore also football, is subject to EU law. The landmark Bosman case of 1995 proved to be of great significance as regards free movement of (professional) athletes and the Meca-Medina case of 2006 settled that EU competition rules were equally applicable to the regulatory activity of sport. The fact that the first ever State aid recovery decision concerns major clubs like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Valencia, give the decisions extra bite. Therefore, this blog post will focus primarily on the negative/recovery decisions[2], their consequences and the legal remedies available to the parties involved.[3] More...

International and European Sports Law – Monthly Report – May 2016. By Marine Montejo

Editor’s note: This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on International and European Sports Law based on the daily coverage provided on our twitter feed @Sportslaw_asser. You are invited to complete this survey via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we might have overlooked.   


The Headlines

Challenged membership put a lot of emphasis on football federations in May. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) has rendered an award, on 27 April 2016, ordering the FIFA Council to submit the application of the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) for FIFA membership to the FIFA Congress (the body authorised to admit new members to FIFA). The GFA has sought since 1999 to become a member of UEFA and FIFA. In May 2013, it became a member of the UEFA and went on to seek membership of FIFA. More...


Operación Puerto Strikes Back!

Forget the European Championship currently held in France or the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio. Doping scandals are making the headlines more than ever in 2016. From tennis star Sharapova receiving a two-year ban for her use of the controversial ‘meldonium’, to the seemingly never-ending doping scandals in athletics. As if this was not enough, a new chapter was added on 14 June to one of the most infamous and obscure doping sagas in history: the Operación Puerto.

The special criminal appeal chamber,  the Audiencia Provincial, has held that the more than 200 blood bags of professional athletes that have been at the center of the investigations since 2006 can be delivered to the relevant sporting authorities, such as the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (AEPSAD), WADA, the UCI and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). In other words, there is now a good chance that the identities of the involved athletes might eventually be revealed.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/9834122/Operation-Puerto-doctor-Eufemiano-Fuentes-treated-tennis-players-athletes-footballers-and-a-boxer.html

This case note will analyze the court’s ruling and summarize its most important findings. Given the amount of time passed since the scandal first came to light (2004), the blog will commence with a short background summary of the relevant facts. More...

FIBA/Euroleague: Basketball’s EU Competition Law Champions League- first leg in the Landgericht München. By Marine Montejo

Editor's note: Marine Montejo is a graduate from the College of Europe in Bruges and is currently an intern at the ASSER International Sports Law Centre.

On 3 June 2016, the Landgericht München (“Munich Regional Court”) ordered temporary injunctions against the International Basketball Federation (“FIBA”) and FIBA Europe, prohibiting them from sanctioning clubs who want to participate in competitions organized by Euroleague Commercial Assets (“ECA”). The reasoning of the Court is based on breaches of German and EU competition law provisions. FIBA and FIBA Europe are, according to the judge, abusing their dominant position by excluding or threatening to exclude national teams from their international competitions because of the participation of their clubs in the Euroleague. This decision is the first judicial step taken in the ongoing legal battle between FIBA and ECA over the organization of European basketball competitions.

This judgment raises several interesting points with regard to how the national judge deals with the alleged abuse of a dominant position by European and international federations. A few questions arise regarding the competence of the Munich Regional Court that may be interesting to first look at in the wake of an appeal before examining the substance of the case. More...

The Müller case: Revisiting the compatibility of fixed term contracts in football with EU Law. By Kester Mekenkamp

Editor’s note: Kester Mekenkamp is an LL.M. student in European Law at Leiden University and an intern at the ASSER International Sports Law Centre.

On 17 February 2016, the Landesarbeitsgericht Rheinland-Pfalz delivered its highly anticipated decision in the appeal proceedings between German goalkeeper Heinz Müller and his former employer, German Bundesliga club Mainz 05.[1] The main legal debate revolved around the question (in general terms) whether the use of a fixed term contract in professional football is compatible with German and EU law. 

In first instance (see our earlier blog posts, here and here), the Arbeitsgericht Mainz had ruled that the ‘objective reasons’ provided in Section 14 (1) of the German Part-time and Fixed-term Employment Act (Gesetz über Teilzeitarbeit und befristete Arbeitsverträge, “TzBfG”), the national law implementing EU Directive 1999/70/EC on fixed-term work, were not applicable to the contract between Müller and Mainz 05 and therefore could not justify the definite nature of that contract.[2] In its assessment the court devoted special attention to the objective reason relating to the nature of the work, declining justifications based thereupon.[3] Tension rose and the verdict was soon labelled to be able to have Bosman-like implications, if held up by higher courts.[4] More...

The BGH’s Pechstein Decision: A Surrealist Ruling



The decision of the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), the Highest Civil Court in Germany, in the Pechstein case was eagerly awaited. At the hearing in March, the Court decided it would pronounce itself on 7 June, and so it did. Let’s cut things short: it is a striking victory for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and a bitter (provisory?) ending for Claudia Pechstein. The BGH’s press release is abundantly clear that the German judges endorsed the CAS uncritically on the two main legal questions: validity of forced CAS arbitration and the independence of the CAS. The CAS and ISU are surely right to rejoice and celebrate the ruling in their respective press releases that quickly ensued (here and here). At first glance, this ruling will be comforting the CAS’ jurisdiction for years to come. Claudia Pechstein’s dire financial fate - she faces up to 300 000€ in legal fees – will serve as a powerful repellent for any athlete willing to challenge the CAS.More...



The EU State aid and Sport Saga: Hungary revisited? (Part 2)

On 18 May 2016, the day the first part of this blog was published, the Commission said in response to the Hungarian MEP Péter Niedermüller’s question, that it had “not specifically monitored the tax relief (…) but would consider doing so. The Commission cannot prejudge the steps that it might take following such monitoring. However, the Commission thanks (Niedermüller) for drawing its attention to the report of Transparency International.”

With the actual implementation in Hungary appearing to deviate from the original objectives and conditions of the aid scheme, as discussed in part 1 of this blog, a possible monitoring exercise by the Commission of the Hungarian tax benefit scheme seems appropriate. The question remains, however, whether the Commission follows up on the intent of monitoring, or whether the intent should be regarded as empty words. This second part of the blog will outline the rules on reviewing and monitoring (existing) aid, both substantively and procedurally. It will determine, inter alia, whether the State aid rules impose an obligation upon the Commission to act and, if so, in what way. More...

The Rise and Fall of FC Twente

Yesterday, 18 May 2016, the licensing committee of the Dutch football federation (KNVB) announced its decision to sanction FC Twente with relegation to the Netherland’s second (and lowest) professional league. The press release also included a link to a document outlining the reasons underlying the decision. For those following the saga surrounding Dutch football club FC Twente, an unconditional sanction by the licensing committee appeared to be only a matter of time. Yet, it is the sanction itself, as well as its reasoning, that will be the primary focus of this short blog.More...

The EU State aid and Sport Saga: Hungary’s tax benefit scheme revisited? (Part 1)

The tax benefit scheme in the Hungarian sport sector decision of 9 November 2011 marked a turning point as regards the Commission’s decisional practice in the field of State aid and sport. Between this date and early 2014, the Commission reached a total of ten decisions on State aid to sport infrastructure and opened four formal investigations into alleged State aid to professional football clubs like Real Madrid and Valencia CF.[1] As a result of the experience gained from the decision making, it was decided to include a Section on State aid to sport infrastructure in the 2014 General Block Exemption Regulation. Moreover, many people, including myself, held that Commission scrutiny in this sector would serve to achieve better accountability and transparency in sport governance.[2]

Yet, a recent report by Transparency International (TI), published in October 2015, raises questions about the efficiency of State aid enforcement in the sport sector. The report analyzes the results and effects of the Hungarian tax benefit scheme and concludes that:

“(T)he sports financing system suffers from transparency issues and corruption risks. (…) The lack of transparency poses a serious risk of collusion between politics and business which leads to opaque lobbying. This might be a reason for the disproportionateness found in the distribution of the subsidies, which is most apparent in the case of (football) and (the football club) Felcsút.”[3]

In other words, according to TI, selective economic advantages from public resources are being granted to professional football clubs, irrespective of the tax benefit scheme greenlighted by the Commission or, in fact, because of the tax benefit scheme. More...

Asser International Sports Law Blog | Reactions of International Sport Organisations to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: An Overview - By Daniela Heerdt & Guido Battaglia

Asser International Sports Law Blog

Our International Sports Law Diary
The Asser International Sports Law Centre is part of the T.M.C. Asser Instituut

Reactions of International Sport Organisations to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: An Overview - By Daniela Heerdt & Guido Battaglia

Editor's note:

Daniela is a researcher at the Asser Institute in the field of sport and human rights. She has a background in public international law and human rights law and defended her PhD project entitled “Blurred Lines of Responsibility and Accountability – Human Rights Abuses at Mega-Sporting Events” in April 2021 at Tilburg University. She also works as independent consultant in the field of sport and human rights for the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, or the European Parliament among other clients from the sports ecosystem

As Head of Policy and Outreach, Guido is in charge of the Centre for Sport & Human Rights engagement with governments, international and intergovernmental organisations and sports organisations. He represents the Centre at conferences, events and bilateral dialogues to reach new audiences and partners and raise public awareness and understanding of the Centre’s work .



On February 24, 2022, the Russian military invaded Ukrainian territory. What followed was an escalation of the war, day by day, causing thousands of victims and forcing millions of people to flee. On March 2, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution deploring "in the strongest possible terms" Russia's aggression against Ukraine by a vote of 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions. On March 29, Russian and Ukrainian representatives met in Istanbul for another round of negotiations. No ceasefire has been agreed and hostilities continue.

Many states, international organizations and corporations quickly took measures in response to this invasion. Hundreds of companies decided to withdraw from Russia. Some countries decided to strengthen economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus and to provide military and economic help to Ukraine. Many civil society actors mobilised to organize and provide humanitarian support for Ukraine. Interestingly, international sports organisations like the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), World Athletics and many other international federations, issued statements condemning the invasion and imposed bans and sanctions on Russian and Belarussian sports bodies and athletes.

This blog post provides an overview of the measures adopted by a number of international sports federations (IFs) that are part of the Olympic Movement since the beginning of the war and analyses how they relate to the statements issued by the IOC and other sanctions and measures taken by international sports organisations in reaction to (geo)political tensions and conflict.


Unprecedented Action: An Overview

The table (pages 9-11), updated by the Centre for Sport and Human Rights on March 30, shows that eight different kinds of measures and decisions have been taken by a number of international sports federations:

  1. Condemnation of the invasion

On the day the invasion and attack started, the IOC issued a statement condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a breach of the Olympic Truce. The same day, World Athletics and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) issued similar statements. Almost all IFs have issued such statements by now, although with notable differences in language. While most of them condemned the invasion (see World Triathlon or World Rugby), some expressed concern for the situation hoping for a rapid peaceful resolution (see International Ski Federation or International Table Tennis Federation).

  1. Cancellation and relocation of events from Russia and Belarus

On the following day, February 25, the IOC published a new statement, in which it recommended to international federations to cancel or relocate sport events that were supposed to take place in Russia or Belarus. This triggered all IFs that had events planned in those countries to cancel or relocate these. Events like the International Volleyball Federation Men’s World Championship were removed from Russia. Moreover, some IFs that had no events planned yet committed to not including Russia or Belarus as candidates for any future events (see World Skate).

  1. Participation of Russian and Belarussian teams and athletes

On February 28, “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants”, the IOC issued new recommendations, this time concerning the prevention of participation of Russian and Belarussian athletes and officials in international tournaments, and where that is not possible anymore, making clear that they can only participate if no association with their country is being made. At least 39 federations followed this recommendation and issued a ban or a partial ban of Russian and Belarussian athletes, among them the Union Cycliste Internationale, the World Curling Federation, the International Handball Federation, and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had initially decided to allow Russian and Belarussian Paralympians to participate in the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games of as neutrals. Threats of boycott from other nations and escalating tension in the athletes' village in Beijing led the IPC to issue a new statement 24 hours after the first one denying entry to the Paralympic Games to Russian and Belarussian Paralympians. Similar pressures were observed in football, as a number of players and Football Associations publicly stated they would refuse to play against Russia in 2022 World Cup playoffs. Subsequently, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions on February 28. It is also worth noting here that FIFA’s and UEFA’s statements so far have not mentioned Belarus nor Belarussian athletes.

The International Judo Federation decided to provide Russian athletes with the opportunity to participate in its events only under the IJF flag, logo and anthem. Nevertheless, the Russian Judo Federation announced its withdrawal from all international events due to safety reasons.

  1. Suspension of Russian and Belarussian federations

Some IFs went beyond those recommendations and took additional actions. Five organizations, the International Tennis Federation, World Athletics, World Rugby, the International Biathlon Union and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation suspended or expressed the intention to suspend Russian and Belarussian membership, without this being recommended by the IOC. Organisations like World Triathlon had similar measures already in place due to the previous doping scandal with Russia. Even the International Paralympic Committee expressed the intention to discuss the suspension of the National Paralympic Committees of Russia and Belarus at their next general assembly.

  1. Suspension of Russian and/or Belarussian leadership representation in federation’s government structures

A handful of IFs also suspended Russian individuals that held leadership positions in their governance structures, such as the International Automobile Federation, or the International Canoe Federation, whereas the International Luge Federation suspended all Russian representatives that held functions in the organization’s Executive Board, Commissions, or Working Groups. All these decisions went beyond what was recommended by the IOC. Alisher Usmanov, the Russian President of the International Fencing Federation, was added to the UK and US sanctions list and decided to suspend exercise of his duties.

  1. Suspension and/or cancellation of sponsorship contracts

On February 28, UEFA decided to terminate all agreements with the state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom across all competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA national team competitions and the EURO 2024. This termination came only one year after it had renewed the sponsorship agreement. So far UEFA seems to be the only sport organization that took measures in relation to their sponsorship deals.

  1. Withdrawing sport-related orders of honours

The February 28 recommendations of the IOC also included a decision to “withdraw the Olympic Order from all persons who currently have an important function in the government of the Russian Federation or other government-related high-ranking position”. Three Orders were withdrawn by the IOC, from Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office. The International Swimming Federation and World Taekwondo immediately followed this recommendation, while the International Judo Federation and United World Wrestling had already taken these measures before the IOC issued their statement. Also, the IPC withdrew the Paralympic Honour from Vladimir Putin and the Paralympic Order from four other Russian government representatives.

      8. Fundraising/Donating for Ukraine

Finally on March 3, the IOC published a letter from the IOC’s president Thomas Bach calling upon the Olympic Movement to engage in humanitarian support for Ukraine through fundraising and donating. At least 15 federations followed this call, or had already set up such measures. The International Luge Federation set up an emergency aid fund for Ukraine and called upon its National Federations to donate. The International Biathlon Union launched a solidarity programme for Ukrainian biathlon, by hosting training camps for Ukrainian athletes and teams. The International Ice Hockey Federation is supporting efforts that were initiated from their national federations. Some of these efforts are dedicated to Ukrainian people in general, while others are focussing on Ukrainian athletes and teams.


A look at the Past

The unprecedented nature of these actions becomes clear when looking at other situations in which international sports issued similar sanctions and measures against national federations for their government’s political decisions and actions, or did not take any actions. When the apartheid system started in South Africa in 1948, it took the IOC 16 years to exclude South Africa from the Olympic Games and only in 1970 was the South African National Olympic Committee expelled. Another 18 years later the IOC adopted a declaration against apartheid in sports. During the Balkan war, what then was known as Yugoslavia was banned from all international events following a UN Security Council resolution, and consequently the Yugoslavian football team was prevented from participating in the Euro 1992 European Football Championships , while athletes from Yugoslavia could only compete as “Independent Olympic Participants” at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games and were not allowed to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. This is the precedent that comes closest to the current situation both in terms of its factual context and of the consequences faced by the athletes and sports organisations of the state concerned. However, unlike with the current actions of Russia, the UN Security Council had then adopted a binding resolution requiring states to bar athletes and clubs from Yugoslavia from international sporting competitions taking place on their territory. At the time, unlike now, the IOC negotiated (successfully) with the UN Security Council to allow the Yugoslav athletes to take part in the 1992 Olympics as neutral athletes.

Sadly, situations of war and conflict are currently happening in many areas of the world, particularly in the Middle East, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The war in Yemen, for example, has been going on for seven years now, causing what has been referred to by the UN as the largest humanitarian crisis ever. To our knowledge, no action has been taken by the IOC or any other sport body in reaction to this war. While one should be cautious to compare situations of war and conflict, as they all are different and come with unique political dynamics and challenges, this brief historical overview and comparison shows that the sport bodies have acted in similar ways in some similar situations (the Yugoslav case), however not in all situations. It also shows that in the past, the IOC’s decisions took significantly longer, and were responding to a binding request from the UN. This is not the case in this specific conflict, where the decisions were taken with unprecedented speed and without an express UN resolution on the subject. Moreover, while in previous situations it was mainly national sport’s bodies directly impacted by the conflict that took certain measures individually, on this occasion international federations followed the IOC’s authoritative guidance and rapidly took decisions and issued sanctions.


What’s next?

Some commentators argued that these measures were exclusively taken in response to geopolitical and public pressure and thereby challenge the constant claim that sport is neutral and does not get involved in politics. The IOC and other sport bodies in return explained that these measures were adopted in response to the Russian violation of the Olympic truce, to protect the integrity, fairness and safety of competitions and athletes. According to Thomas Bach, “we (the IOC) will not fall into the trap of the cheap argument that this would be a politicisation of sport”.

Whatever the motivation for these actions may be, their long-term effect still remains to be observed. Some of them are currently being challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which may or may not result in the invalidation of some of these measures. At the same time, new (unprecedented) measures could follow.

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