Playing the final in Luxembourg: The Court of Justice and the future of transnational sports governance
| Author | Antoine Duval |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X221130238 |
| Published date | 01 August 2022 |
| Date | 01 August 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Playing the final in Luxembourg:
The Court of Justice and the
future of transnational sports
governance
Antoine Duval*
In Luxembourg, in early July, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
heard two cases, commonly known as the ISU
1
and European Super League
2
cases, which have the
potential to upend the way in which many sports are governed and international competitions organized.
The hearing room was packed with a large (for legal proceedings, but small in sporting standards) audi-
ence of journalists, lawyers, civil servants, sports administrators and academics (myself included). This
was an exceptional sight as the attention of the sports/football community is rarely turned to
Luxembourg and the CJEU probably had not witnessed this level of interest from the media and the
wider public since the Bosman hearing in 1995. At the same time, it is also the first instance in
whichasportingcasehasbeenreferredtotheGrand Chamber, a sign that the Court itself deemed
them deserving of specific attention and careful deliberation by a wide spectrum of members of the
Court. Furthermore, both cases will be blessed with an Opinion of Advocate General Athanasios
Rantos, which, coincidentally, will be released on ‘Bosman day’(15 December 2022).
What is at stake in these cases? Both are challenging the legitimacy and capacity of international
federations (IFs) to regulate their sports and organize international sporting competitions. In prac-
tice, most European sports are governed primarily through a regulatory pyramid constituted of
private associations. An IF (often, though not always, based in Switzerland) sits at the apex,
such as the International Skating Union (ISU) or the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA), and regulates the international dimension of a particular sport through rules
and decisions imposed onto its members –the national associations –and its members’members
–the clubs and/or the athletes. These IFs are often acting as (almost natural) monopolies on the
*
T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague, Netherlands
Corresponding author:
Antoine Duval, Senior Researcher, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, 2517 JN The Hague, Netherlands.
E-mail: a.duval@asser.nl
1. Case C-124/21 P International Skating Union v. Commission.
2. Case C-333/21: Request European Super League Company, S.L. v. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Editorial
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2022, Vol. 29(4) 409–412
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1023263X221130238
maastrichtjournal.sagepub.com
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