Abstract One of the least visible and yet potentially most consequential findings in the trio of decisions related to transnational sports governance rendered by the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 21 December 2023 concerns the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It is relatively easy to overlook, as it is tucked away in the much-less scrutinized International Skating Union (ISU) judgment of the Court. Yet, as will be argued at the end of this article, the CJEU’s conclusions regarding the bindingness of CAS arbitration are consequential and will limit th ..read more

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Abstract ‘Yeh Dus Saal Aap key Naam’ (These 10 years are dedicated to the people)-The title of the theme song of the tenth edition of the VIVO Indian Premier League (2017) narrates the story of the sports industry in India. The sports industry has undergone rapid commercialisation since the advent of professional leagues in the various fields of sport. The commercialised sports industry remains to be one of the fastest-growing industries in the world evolving at a rapid pace. However, the path has not been one that has been straightforward. The failure of sound legislation for ‘Sports Law’ in ..read more

Abstract Being a quick and professional way to resolve disputes, arbitration has been firmly established as the predominant method of sports conflict resolution. Implementing emergency arbitration in sports disputes speeds up the case analysis, allowing claimants to request a pre-arbitration interim measure directly to an arbitral institution, not the courts. This paper aims to unfold emergency arbitration as a provisional remedy focusing on sports arbitration in Brazil under a comparative perspective with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). An explanatory case study of six sports emerge ..read more

Abstract 295 rugby players have begun legal proceedings against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union. The claimants report they are suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Among the allegations against the defendants is that the player safety regulations (i.e. the Pitch Side Concussion Assessment and Return to Play protocols) in place at the time of injury were done without proper medical foresight and increased the risks of concussion to players. World Rugby’s safety regulations are informed by the work of the Concussion in Sport Group which maintains that ..read more

Abstract On January 21, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued two judgments on European Union (EU) law as a check on the regulatory power of sport governing bodies: European Super League (ESL) and International Skating Union (ISU). These judgments clarify that private entities who wield regulatory power are under EU law subject to what can be characterized as good governance requirements. After examining how ESL and ISU enhance substantive and procedural good governance, this article explores who benefits—and more importantly who does not benefit—from these good governance re ..read more

Abstract Sport is becoming more and more attractive for private entities that desire to launch and exploit their own competitions outside the calendar (and control) of international federations. Today, breakaway leagues appear in different disciplines with increasing frequency. This poses a problem for sports governing bodies (SGBs) as they see in the newcomers a threat to the sporting values, purely mercantile intentions, and freeriding. Acting as regulators – and gatekeepers – of their respective disciplines, SGBs tend to hinder the entrance of third-party organisers. And, by doing it, they ..read more

Abstract The three rulings of 21 December 2023 make three changes to the way we understand the structure of EU sports law. I examine all three in this paper, but I do not think any of the changes are radical. Things have changed – but not much, and the fundamentals of EU sports law, nurtured by the Court in case law that commenced in 1974, are untouched by the Court’s latest three rulings. To be clear: my concern in this paper is only with the structure of EU sports law. For UEFA, and in particular for its power to act as a ‘gatekeeper’ through a system of prior approval for new competitions o ..read more

Abstract The trio of rulings handed down by the CJEU on 21 December 2023 have certainly sparked much discussion and debate amongst sports lawyers across the world during the past few months. In this commentary, the authors discuss the Royal Antwerp ruling and outline the CJEU’s assessment of the compatibility of the Belgian Football Association’s ‘home grown player’ rules with EU free movement law, the practical implications of the ruling and, the potential impact it may have on UEFA’s own ‘home grown player’ rule and the wider football transfer system ..read more

Abstract The rulings of the CJEU in Superleague, Royal Antwerp and ISU endorse some of the characteristics of the European Model of Sport without explicitly referring to it. The Court recognises across the three judgments the specific nature of sport, the cultural importance of sport in Europe, the primacy of sporting merit and equal opportunities in sport competitions, and the relevance of redistribution to maintain amateur and commercial sport intertwined. The CJEU also acknowledges the legitimacy of sport governing bodies as regulators of their sport, but severely limits their autonomy to d ..read more