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Sport and competition law – the year in review 2018/19

Swimming Competition
Friday, 17 May 2019 Author: Angelique Bret, Paul Williams

Welcome to the sport and competition law chapter of LawInSport’s “year in review” series. This chapter provides a high-level review of the year’s key developments in the field of competition law in the sports sector. Specifically, we examine:

  • the way in which the rules of sporting bodies can and have been challenged under the competition law rules; and

  • four key cases concerning:

  1. the dispute between FINA and the International Swimming League, a dispute that has only recently been resolved;

  2. the European Commission's decision in relation to the International Skating Union;

  3. the dispute between the International Equestrian Federation and the Global Champions competitions; and

  4. the German competition authority's case regarding the Olympics and restrictions on athlete endorsements.

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Written by

Angelique Bret

Angelique Bret

Angelique Bret is a partner in the EU and Competition Law Group at Pinsent Masons.  

Angelique specialises in advising clients on the application of the competition rules in the sports sector. She has acted for governing bodies, clubs and major brands across sport and in particular in relation to football, horseracing, rugby and cricket.  She has been involved in the seminal cases involving the collective sale of the FA Premier League's TV rights and the defence of the Racecourse Association's sale of media rights to Attheraces.  More recently, Angelique has been advising on Ofcom's investigation into the sale of the FA Premier League rights, the UEFA financial fair play rules and the State aid regime for investment in sports infrastructure.

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Paul Williams

Paul Williams

Associate, Pinsent Masons.

Paul specialises in EU and UK competition law, and advises client on the application of the competition law rules to clients in the sports sector. He has recently advised clients on the UEFA and EFL financial fair play rules, the State Aid regime for investment in sports infrastructure, and sports media rights. Paul also has experience of working with both UK and EU competition authorities in the context of merger investigations, cartels and complaints for clients in many business sectors.

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