FIFA, CAS Rulings Can Now Be Challenged by Courts Outside Switzerland, Rules EU’s Top Court
The European Court of Justice has ruled that decisions made by FIFA and CAS may now be reviewed by courts within the European Union, challenging the exclusivity of Swiss-based arbitration.
In a significant judgement, the highest court of the European Union ruled on Friday that decisions issued by FIFA, the global governing authority of football, can be legally contested in EU member states rather than only in Switzerland.
Why Is This a Major Development?
The ruling considerably dilutes the long-held practice requiring legal challenges to sports-related decisions to be resolved exclusively through arbitration in Switzerland.
EU Courts Empowered to Examine CAS Judgements
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), headquartered in Luxembourg, observed that courts across the 27 EU countries should be permitted to conduct a thorough assessment of arbitral decisions to verify compliance with EU law.
“Courts within the 27 EU nations must be able to carry out a comprehensive review of such rulings for alignment with the foundational principles of EU law,” the ECJ said in its official communication.
This judgement now gives national courts in the EU the power to examine and potentially overturn decisions handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and functions under Swiss legal jurisdiction.
Though CAS is internationally accepted as the final authority in sporting disputes, the ECJ highlighted that Switzerland is not part of the EU—making the ruling all the more consequential.
As per the ECJ, decisions made by CAS should not be exempt from judicial oversight, especially where the core rights and legal standards of the EU are at stake.
“The awards given by CAS must be open to effective legal review,” the Court underlined.
It further stated that “national courts or tribunals must have the authority to carry out…a comprehensive judicial examination” to ensure these rulings uphold “public policy under EU law.”
As of now, neither FIFA nor CAS has responded publicly to the judgement.
A Legal Dispute Nearly a Decade Old
The case traces back to a dispute filed in 2015 by Belgian football club RFC Seraing and Maltese investment firm Doyen Sports, who initiated legal proceedings against FIFA.
Their grievance was linked to FIFA’s regulation that bans third-party ownership (TPO) of football players’ economic rights. Under TPO, outside investors hold financial stakes in players, influencing transfer negotiations and decisions.
RFC Seraing and Doyen challenged this restriction in a Belgian commercial court, claiming that the rule violated EU laws on competition. However, FIFA rules required such matters to be taken to CAS, which had upheld the ban.
With the latest ECJ verdict, such matters can now potentially be taken up in national courts within the EU itself.
Implications for Swiss-Based Sports Tribunals
The CAS was set up in 1984 by the International Olympic Committee to act as a neutral arbitration body for sporting disputes.
Located in Lausanne, it has long served as the final authority in cases involving top organisations like FIFA, UEFA, and others based in Switzerland.
However, this ruling represents another judicial challenge to the dominance of Swiss sports institutions in the EU legal framework.
The judgement follows two other key ECJ rulings that questioned FIFA and UEFA’s regulatory monopoly under EU competition laws. One of those was related to the European Super League controversy, and the other involved French footballer Lassana Diarra, whose transfer issue also brought FIFA’s regulations under EU legal scrutiny.
