The Enduring Battle between the Lex Sportiva and EU Competition Law

The lex sportiva embodies the notion that sport governing bodies (SGBs) possess full authority to promulgate their own rules and render these binding by reason of contract to all their constituent stakeholders, including, inter alia, athletes, clubs and national federations. Their non-profit character has allowed them to attract a preferential status and enjoy financial benefits generally out of reach to ordinary commercial actors (e.g., immunities, tax privileges), even though SGBs engage in significant revenue-generating activities. This preferential status has given them a dominant place in the marketplace of mega-sporting events and until recently shielded them from any serious action to address the self-proclaimed supremacy of the lex sportiva over human rights and EU competition law. In two seminal judgments, namely European Super League and International Skating Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) emphasized that despite their non-profit character, SGBs are subject to exactly the same competition rules as commercial or other entities and, therefore, that they are not at liberty to impose restrictions on members and non-members alike. The CJEU has dealt a heavy blow to the unfettered nature of the lex sportiva, such that would most likely have further impact on the commercial and investment activities of SGBs.