‘Fair play please!’: Recent developments in the application of EC law to sport

Introduction:

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The broad issue that needs to be addressed is just how far it is proper to shelter arrangements in the sports sector from full or partial legal scrutiny and this inquiry demands as an essential preliminary a rigorous inquiry into what is really meant by the frequent claim that 'sport is special' – culturally, socially, economically.

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On 5 June 2002, a week after the World Cup began in Seoul, the Commission published a memorandum reporting on 'constructive discussions with sporting organizations' and listing a series of issues which the Commission considered to have been satisfactorily resolved after sports bodies had adjusted 'their sporting regulations to bring them into line with today’s sporting, economic and legal requirements'. The clear impression is that the Commission feels the time is right to call a halt to its vigorous enthusiasm of the last few years to employ the Treaty competition rules to scrutinize the professional sports sector. On the other hand, anxieties to show respect for the social and cultural benefits of sport may lately be identified in the practice of several institutions, including the Commission.

This article surveys recent EC practice. It intends to take stock of how fair is the play in this field at present and it takes as a major theme the risk inherent in shaping a 'sports policy' that fails adequately to distinguish between professional sport and recreational/amateur sport.