Key Sports Law Cases & Developments 2025 - 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.  Please note that the final section by Dr. Despina Mavromati contains a comprehensive round-up of key sports law cases from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, European Court of Human Rights, Court of Justice of the EU, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

• Sven Demeulemeester Partner, ALTIUS, Belgium (assisted by Associate, Willem‑Alexander​ Devlies)
  • The Belgian Competition Authority Zooming in on Football, Hockey and Cycling
  • The Thiam Case and Top Athletes Protecting Their Personality Rights
  • The RFC SeraingCase on the ‘Res Judicata’(A Matter Judged) Effect of CAS Awards
• Marc Peltier, Associate Professor Of Law, University Of Nice, France
  • The Fight Against Gender-Based and Sexual Violence (GBSV) in Sport
• Maciej Bałaziński, Attorney-At-Law, Kancelaria Prawna Maciej Bałaziński I Współpracownicy, Poland (assisted by Advocat, Karolina Letniowska)
  • Youth Player Regulation 2.0
  • PZPN Coaching Convention
  • Amendment of the Temporary Transfer Regulations
• Jan Kleiner, Director of Football Regulatory, FIFA; Jonáš Gürtler, Attorney At Law, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Key Swiss Federal Tribunal cases
  • FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players: Interim Regulatory Framework
  • National Dispute Resolution Chamber Recognition Principles
• Josep Vandellos, Founder/Partner, Vandellos Sports Law, Spain
  • Domestic follow-up after the EUCJ European Super League (ESL) ruling
  • Spain’s Supreme Court Ruling overturning LaLiga’s 2015 Revenue Reform
• Christian Keidel, Partner, Lentze Stopper, Germany (assisted by Marvin Thormann, Associate)
  • Match Result Upon De Facto(In Practice) Match Abandonment
  • Competitor Relationship Between Sports League and Ticket Re-Selling Platform
• Marie-Anne Lindhardt, Partner, MAQS Law Firm, Sweden
  • Increased Focus on the Financing of Swedish Sports
  • Judgment from the Swedish Supreme Court Concerning the World’s Largest Half Marathon
• Michele Colucci, Honorary President at Italian Association of Sports Lawyers
  • RFC Seraing Judgment and the Semenya Grand Chamber Judgment
• Emin Ozkurt, Managing Partner, Ozkurt Law Offices, Turkey
  • The Turkish Football Betting Scandal
• Benoît Keane, Solicitor Advocate & Avocat, Keane Legal, Belgium
  • RFC Seraing Case and its Implications
• Carlos Carnero & Javier Fernanz, Tax Partner, Senn Ferrero Asociados Sports and Entertainment SLP, Spain
• EUROPEAN CASE LAW ROUND-UP:
• Dr. Despina Mavromati, Attorney-at-law, Sportlegis, Switzerland
  • Judgments rendered by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFT)
  • Judgements from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU): the Semenya and the Seraing judgments
  • Notable CAS Awards