The Sporting Exemption Principle in the European Court of Justice's Case Law

Abstract

As early as the seventies the sports authorities in Europe started a campaign in order to achieve the recognition of a sporting exemption from the European rules. In their view the whole of the sporting activity containing also sports rules issued by them should not be subject to the European Treaty provisions. After more than thirty years, many legal and political confrontations have resulted in the application by the European Court of Justice of the principle of proportionality in many different sports related cases in order to exclude some areas of the sports sector from the European Internal Market and Competition Rules. This exclusion however which is often referred to as "the sporting exemption" is neither absolute nor unconditional.

Keywords: Sporting Exemption, Sports Law, European Law, European Court, Proportionality