Key Sports Law Cases & Developments 2023 - Europe

At the end of each year, we publish compilation articles to identify the most important legal cases and developments from the world of sports law in the preceding 12 months. The articles are comprised of the opinions of leading lawyers and executives from the LawInSport Editorial and Advisory Board.

This article contains the responses from our European members:

• Péter Rippel-Szabó, Associate, Bird & Bird, Hungry
  • Hosting of 19th outdoor World Athletics Championship
  • Relocation of World Aquatics headquarters from Switzerland to Budapest
• Sven Demeulemeester Partner, ALTIUS, Belgium (assisted by Associate, Willem‑Alexander​ Devlies)
  • The Royal Antwerp FC case against UEFA’s ‘Home Grown Player’ rules
  • Foreign subsidy (FSR) decisions in the case of RE Virton v. Lommel SK
  • Legal developments relating to FIFA's agents’ regulations and cap
• Marc Peltier, Associate Professor Of Law, University Of Nice, France
  • The passing of the Olympic and Paralympic Act (Paris 2024)
• Maciej Bałaziński, Attorney At Law, Kancelaria Prawna Maciej Bałaziński I Współpracownicy, Poland (assisted by Advocat, Karolina Letniowska)
  • Impact of the FIFA Agents Regulations in Poland
  • Amendments to Polish Football Association (PZPN) Disciplinary Code
  • Introduction of “sports talents list” to promote young athletes
• Benoît Keane, Solicitor Advocate & Avocat, Keane Legal, Belgium
  • Super League and Royal Antwerp cases
• Jan Kleiner, Director of Football Regulatory, FIFA, Switzerland (assited by Vanessa Plavjanikova, Team Lead Disputes, Legal & Compliance Division)
  • SFT decision on CAS arbitrator’s independence (duty of disclosure vs duty of curiosity)
  • Swiss Anti-money Laundering Act and its impact on the Swiss Civil Code
  • Football regulatory development
  • Agents
  • FIFA Circular no. 1867: failure to respect settlement agreements – competence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee
  • FIFA Commentary
• Josep Vandellos, Founder/Partner, Vandellos Sports Law, Spain
  • The Negreira affair
  • The Rubiales case
• Christian Keidel, Partner, Lentze Stopper, Germany (with assistance from Associate, Marvin Thormann)
  • Legal challenge to FIFA’s agents’ fee cap in Germany
  • New age limit for referees
• Jiří Janák, Advokát/Attorney at Law, Czech Republic
  • Establishment of the Czech National Court of Arbitration for Sport
  • Broadcasting rights tender for Czech football
• Emin Ozkurt, Managing Partner, Ozkurt Law Offices, Turkey
  • Attack on match referee Halil Umut Meler by club preseident
• Despina Mavromati, Attorney at BianchiSchwald, Switzerland
  • Swiss Federal Tribunal judgments in motions against CAS Awards
  • Selected CAS awards in international matters
  • The ECHR judgment in Caster Semenya v. Switzerland
  • Regulatory changes in 2023
• Marie-Anne Lindhardt, Partner, MAQS Law Firm, Sweden
  • Eligibility requirements for officials within the national and international sports industry
  • Safe Sport
  • Collective bargaining agreement for women’s football
  • The dispute between the Swedish Consumer Ombudsman and the Gothenburg Athletics Association
• Carlos Carnero, Tax Partner, Senn Ferrero Asociados Sports and Entertainment SLP, Spain
  • Dani Alves
  • Dani Pedrosa
  • Ivan Helguera
  • Real Madrid Club De Futbol
  • Xabi Alonso