Sport & EU/Competition Law – Annual Review 2024/25

Welcome to the EU and Competition Law chapter of the LawInSport Annual Review 24/25.  In 2024, competition law continued to have a profound impact upon the governance of sport.  What also became clear is that the arret de principe (leading judgement) delivered by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) in the Super League case^[1] has become the lodestar for the application of EU law to sports regulation. This ruling, which refined the legal test to be applied to the antitrust review of sports regulations^[2], had important repercussions for the cases decided in 2024, not just in the EU but also in the UK.

This chapter focuses upon:

• The Diarra judgment and its impact for the player transfer system;

• The Manchester City FC case against the new financial sustainability regulations of the Premier League relating to associated party transactions (e.g. sponsorship); and

• Other developments relating to the Padel merger approval in Spain, the opening by the European Commission of an in-depth investigation in the F1/MotoGP merger case, and the Cycling Service case before the Dutch Court of Appeal concerning the UCI’s centralised prize management platform.

It concludes with a look ahead to the EU/competition law cases likely to impact sport over the forthcoming year.    

• Diarra judgment
  • Legal Background
  • Factual background to dispute
  • CJEU Judgment
  • Looking ahead: post-Diarra
• Manchester City Football Club v. Premier League
  • Challenge to APT rules
  • Procedural fairness
  • Next steps
• Other developments
  • Padel
  • F1/MotoGP
  • Cycling Service v. UCI & CPA
• What to look out for in 2025