GENEVA — A significant legal opinion released on Thursday by a prominent European court could potentially undermine the power of sports organizations based in Switzerland.
This opinion comes from the Court of Justice of the European Union and pertains to a case initiated by a Belgian soccer club against FIFA, which could shake the foundations of the legal framework governing Olympic sports.
The court’s advocate general has recommended that, in the future, national courts within EU member states should have the authority to review decisions made by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Established in 1984, CAS was designed to provide a cohesive and binding legal platform for resolving disputes and appeals, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland — a city not included in the EU’s 27 member countries.
Over the past 14 months, the same court in Luxembourg has handed down two notable rulings that have called into question the authority of soccer governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA under EU competition law.
The new opinion continues a protracted legal battle waged by RFC Seraing, a Belgian club, along with investment entity Doyen Sports, against FIFA regulations that ban third-party ownership of player contracts and transfer rights.
The two parties petitioned a commercial court in Brussels in 2015 to scrutinize whether FIFA’s rules contravene EU legislation.
If the judges in Luxembourg endorse this recommendation, which is anticipated in the coming months, the case may be remanded to Brussels. Such a ruling would fundamentally alter the existing legal framework binding athletes, officials, and clubs to accept arbitration decisions made by CAS.
According to the European court’s opinion, FIFA’s arbitration clauses are non-negotiable. Advocate General Tamara ?apeta summarized that decisions rendered by CAS under this framework should not merely be limited to public policy matters but must also undergo comprehensive judicial review.
The European court emphasized that EU member states are required to provide direct access to a court capable of assessing FIFA’s regulations for their alignment with EU law.
Both CAS and FIFA opted not to provide any commentary on the matter following the opinion’s release.
In terms of workload, soccer constitutes the largest segment of cases handled by CAS, which logs about 950 cases annually.
FIFA’s financial support of 2.5 million Swiss francs (approximately $2.75 million) in 2023 represented over 10% of the total revenue for CAS that year.
Currently, CAS decisions can be contested at Switzerland’s supreme court in Lausanne, but only on limited procedural grounds, and it is rare for these decisions to be overturned. Seraing and Doyen Sports experienced a setback at the Swiss Federal Tribunal in 2018 when they lost their case.
Previous rulings from Luxembourg have compelled FIFA and UEFA to modify regulations that previously prohibited commercial entities from proposing alternative competitions, as well as to formulate interim transfer guidelines related to contracts terminated for just cause.
