Sports governance became a hot topic within Europe in 2021, particularly in light of the proposed establishment of new competitions, particular football club takeovers, and financial fair play matters, as well as the challenges posed by the Covid 19 pandemic to sport’s sustainability. The ‘specificity of sport’ was recognised by the amended Treaty of the … Continue Reading
Scale of the piracy problem The threats posed to the funding of sport by media rights piracy is nothing new. However, as recognised by the European Parliament in its resolution published 19 May 2021, developments in digital technology and the proliferation of access to digital content (in particular through IPTV) have, in turn, increased the … Continue Reading
In a joint statement released last week, the Football Association (“FA”), the Premier League and the Football League (together, the “Stakeholders”) confirmed the Home Office approved points-based system that will apply to all overseas players, including EU nationals, hoping to join an English club from January 2021 onwards. Following the end of the Brexit transition … Continue Reading
The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has ruled that, after a decade-long legal battle, football ace Lionel Messi has the right to register his name as a trade mark. This interesting case confirms that celebrity names are registrable as trade marks. However, whilst there are some advantages to seeking such protection, there … Continue Reading
With less than one week to go until the Premier League resumes, English football fans are going to have the opportunity to watch every game for the first time ever. On 3 April 2020 UEFA announced that it had accepted a request from the Premier League to suspend the 3pm blackout rule which has prevented … Continue Reading
The Portuguese Competition Authority (“PCA”) last week ordered the Portuguese Professional Football League (“LPFP”) to suspend no-poach agreements implemented between clubs. This follows the adoption by the LPFP of a resolution whereby football clubs agreed not to hire football players from other clubs “who unilaterally terminated their employment contract due to issues caused by the … Continue Reading
The ban on mass gatherings in order to combat the spread of COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation or postponement of sporting fixtures and live events globally. This includes the English Premier League that had to postpone all fixtures following the lockdown. On 10 May 2020, Boris Johnson announced that, as part of the UK government’s … Continue Reading
Over the course of the last two months professional football across Europe has ground to a halt. In an attempt to lend some shape and certainty to the European football landscape, UEFA announced in April that all its European members had until 25 May to make a decision about their respective leagues. Some leagues have … Continue Reading
We promised to provide updates on the saga involving Spain’s public funding of certain Spanish football clubs when we covered the first successful appeal of the European Commission (“EC”)’s decision on the subject. This first update comes in favour of Hercules Football Club (“Hercules FC”) and annuls another aspect of the EC’s 2016 decision. On … Continue Reading
The saga involving Spain’s public funding of certain Spanish football clubs took a new turn on 26 February 2019, as the General Court of the European Union overturned the European Commission’s (“EC”) ruling that FC Barcelona had received unlawful state aid from Spain.… Continue Reading
The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) has closed the ongoing investigation into the international governing body of equestrian sports, Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The investigation was instigated after the competition prosecutor general at the BCA received complaints in 2015. In 2015, the Global Champions League (GCL) accused the FEI of imposing “exclusivity clauses” that prevented riders … Continue Reading
As part of a continuous attempt to move away from geoblocking and towards a Digital Single Market (“DSM”), the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council agreed, last 13 December 2018, to facilitate access to sports radio content within the new EU broadcasting rules, a move which the Premier League has criticised. This … Continue Reading
Today marks the start of the Cheltenham Festival, one of the highlights of the National Hunt racing calendar. The Cheltenham Festival can trace its roots back to 1860, when the first National Hunt Chase took place at Market Harborough. The event has been held in Cheltenham since 1911 and continues to include the Stayers Hurdle, … Continue Reading
The European Parliament has voted to reject proposed legislation designed to prohibit ‘geoblocking’. The vote represents a major set-back in the European Commission’s “Digital Single Market” strategy (covered by Sports Shorts previously). The vote comes only weeks after the European Commission announced an agreement with the European Parliament and member states to allow online subscriptions … Continue Reading
The Court of Justice for the European Union ruled at the end of October that the trick card playing game duplicate bridge should not be considered a sport for VAT purposes. The English Bridge Union (EBU) charges participants of its competitions entrance fees, paying VAT on these fees. The body sought to challenge this VAT … Continue Reading
On 28 September, the European Commission released a Communication on tackling illegal online content, under the heading “Towards an enhanced responsibility of platforms”. The communication sets out (non-legally-binding) guidelines for online platforms to move to “step up the fight” against illegal online content. Tackling infringing content online is a well-recognised problem for the owners of … Continue Reading
On Thursday 8 June 2017 the British people will go to the polls to determine who will lead their country for the next four years and who will (almost definitely) oversee the nation’s exit from the European Union. It’s been almost a year since Britain voted for Brexit (to be precise, on Thursday, it will … Continue Reading
Recently, rugby legend Dan Carter made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. After being pulled over by the police on Avenue des Champs-Élysées for speeding, police discovered that he was over the alcohol limit. He was subsequently dropped by his sponsor Land Rover for what seems to be a breach of a morality clause, … Continue Reading
Governance in sport has been a hot topic in the UK in recent months, with the release of Sport England and UK Sport’s “Code for Sports Governance” on 31 October 2016, followed by the inevitable media scrutiny on some of UK’s sports governance juggernauts, including (in particular) the FA and, most recently, the revelations and … Continue Reading
On 9 February 2017, leading UK internet search engines and representatives from the creative industries (including film, sports, music, and publishing to name a few) entered into a landmark agreement, with assistance from the UK Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”), to cooperate in combatting online copyright infringement. The agreement, which takes the form of a Voluntary … Continue Reading
On Monday (28 November), the European Council announced that it has agreed a general approach to a draft regulation to prohibit “unjustified geoblocking” between member states, including confirmation that the regulation should not apply to sports broadcasts. The draft regulation formed part of the proposals adopted by the Commission earlier this year on the Digital … Continue Reading
In the United States, there is a tradition that the new President’s performance is measured after 100 days in office. Today (3 October 2016), marks 100 days since the British nation voted to leave the European Union on 24 June 2016. On Sunday 2 October 2016, Theresa May (again) declared that Brexit really means Brexit. … Continue Reading
The European Commission announced on 27 September 2016 that it had sent a formal “statement of objections” to the International Skating Union, alleging that the ISU’s rule banning skaters from taking part in unauthorised speed skating events and subject to a lifetime ban sanction, infringes the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements in Article 101(1) of the … Continue Reading
