Sport is special… but rules are rules

The European Commission’s white paper on sport, published in July, came as a disappointment to the governing bodies of some sports.

What it said on the application of EU internal market and competition rules to sport disappointed UEFA, European football’s governing body, and sports associations representing basketball, handball, ice hockey, rugby and volleyball. The six organisations issued a joint statement saying: "We are disappointed that the EU has not reached firmer conclusions with regard to some of the key issues facing sport today." The six called for a "clearer legal environment" for sports governing bodies.

The Commission stressed the importance of ensuring compliance with EU legislation which outlaws discrimination on grounds of nationality. The paper said that some rules, for example covering quotas for locally trained players, were acceptable provided that they were proportionate and that the objective they were designed to serve was legitimate. The Commission distanced itself from the idea of there being "purely sporting rules", taking support from the European Court of Justice ruling in the Meca-Medina case in 2006. The case involved two swimmers who challenged a two-year suspension for doping offences on the grounds that the rules broke EU law on freedom to provide services. The Commission said in its white paper that the specificity of sport had to be taken into account, as restrictive effects on competition were inherent in the organisation of competitive sport (such as limits on the number of players or the length of matches) but it came out against the formulation of general guidelines on the application of competition law to the sports sector.

Despite pressure from the governing bodies of some professional sports, there does not seem to be much enthusiasm from governments to carve out special rules or exemptions for the treatment of sport under EU law. Governments seem to believe that the current set-up strikes the right balance between recognising the special characteristics of the sports sector while dealing with the economic aspects of sports industry under EU competition and internal market rules.

But as sports clubs become global businesses, they could be subject to the same brutal market disciplines as international banks, power companies or manufacturers which are bought and sold.

UEFA’s William Gaillard warns that the new class of billionaire football club-owners such as Russian Roman Abramovich (right) might sell off assets including players and stadia if they are disappointed with the return on their investment. This doomsday scenario is still a long way off, with the English Premier League clubs still the most profitable in Europe despite increased debt levels, higher bills for transfers and the largest wage bills.

With little sign of an end to the cash flooding into sport, the EU looks set to continue to treat it as a successful business like any other and to apply its rules accordingly.

The European Commission’s white paper on sport, published in July, came as a disappointment to the governing bodies of some sports.