GENEVA (AP) — A top European court has issued a legal opinion on Thursday that may potentially pose a new challenge to the authority of sports bodies in Switzerland. The Court of Justice of the European Union has released its preliminary opinion in a case involving a Belgian soccer club against FIFA, which could have significant implications for the established legal framework in Olympic sports.
The court’s advocate general has recommended that its judges ultimately rule in favor of allowing national courts in European Union member states to review decisions made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) based in Switzerland. The CAS, established in 1984, serves as a centralized and binding legal platform for resolving disputes and appeals within the realm of sports, operating out of Lausanne, Switzerland, the home city of the International Olympic Committee. Notably, Switzerland is not part of the 27 EU member states.
In the past 14 months, the same European court in Luxembourg has delivered two significant rulings under EU competition law, notably in the Super League case and the Lassana Diarra transfer dispute, challenging the authority of soccer governing bodies FIFA and UEFA.
The most recent opinion is the latest development in a prolonged legal battle initiated by Belgian club RFC Seraing and investment fund Doyen Sports against FIFA regulations that prohibit third-party ownership of a player’s registration and transfer rights. In 2015, they petitioned a commercial court in Brussels to assess whether FIFA regulations violated EU laws.
If the European court’s judges in Luxembourg confirm the opinion, which is expected to be announced in the coming months, it could potentially undermine the existing legal structure that obligates athletes, officials, and clubs to abide by CAS decisions without the ability to seek further judicial review.
Summarizing the opinion put forth by Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta, the European court stated, “FIFA’s sports arbitration clauses are mandatory,” and further elaborated, “(CAS) awards rendered under that system cannot therefore be limited to public policy issues and must be open to full judicial review.” Additionally, it emphasized that EU member states should allow direct access to a court with the authority to judicially review FIFA’s rules for compliance with EU law.
CAS and FIFA have refrained from providing comments following the release of the opinion.
Soccer represents a significant portion of the CAS caseload, with approximately 950 cases registered each year. FIFA’s financial contribution to CAS in 2023 amounted to 2.5 million Swiss francs ($2.75 million), constituting over 10% of the court’s annual revenue.
While CAS decisions can be challenged at the Swiss Federal Tribunal in Lausanne on specific procedural grounds, such appeals are seldom successful. In 2018, Seraing and Doyen faced defeat at the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
The prior rulings from Luxembourg prompted FIFA and UEFA to revise regulations that previously hindered commercial competitors from proposing new competitions and to draft interim transfer regulations related to contracts terminated for cause.
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