Lecture on Sports Arbitration and European Competition Law in the Master in EU Law of the University Carlos III of Madrid
We have given a lecture on the interplay between sports and EU competition law, which continues to be a highly debated topic one year after we were entrusted with this session, following the CJEU ruling in FIFA v Lassana Diarra and the Opinions of Advocates General Ćapeta and Emiliou, in January and May 2025, respectively
Our partner, José Páez, has given a session focused on the application of EU and competition law to sport in arbitration proceedings, in the Master’s Degree in EU Law at the Carlos III University of Madrid.
The session started presenting the application of EU and competition law to sport, according to the CJEU, and ended with a presentation of the arbitration proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport of Lausanne (CAS), in which EU competition law issues have been discussed. This was the structure of the session:
I. Sport and EU (Competition) Law
II. International Arbitration
III. Sports Arbitration
IV. Arbitration and Competition Law
V. Sports Arbitration and Competition Law
V.1 CAS cases with competition law components
In addition, the discussion with the students also addressed the options available to the CAS in view of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in the International Skating Union case (C-124/21, ISU case) and the more recent Opinion of Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta in case C-600/23 (RFC Seraing v. FIFA, Belgian FA & UEFA). In both cases, the principle of effective judicial protection leads to the conclusion that the lack of control of compliance with EU public policy, of which EU competition law forms part, by the Swiss court hearing an action for annulment against an award of CAS does not ensure the respect of individual rights (related to competition law) provided for in the TFEU.
