UL and SA Royal Antwerp Football Club v Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 62021CJ0680
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2023:1010
• Date: 21 December 2023
• Docket Number: C-680/21
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)

Provisional text

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Grand Chamber)

21 December 2023 (*)

Table of contents

I. Legal context

A. The UEFA Statutes

B. The UEFA and the URBSFA regulations concerning ‘home-grown players’

1. UEFA’s regulations

2. The URBSFA’s regulations

II. Facts in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling

III. Admissibility

A. The procedural conditions for issuing an order for reference

B. The content of the order for reference

C. The facts of the dispute and the relevance of the questions referred to the Court

D. The cross-border dimension of the dispute in the main proceedings

IV. Consideration of the questions referred

A. Preliminary observations

1. The subject matter of the case in the main proceedings

2. The applicability of EU law to sport and the activities of sporting associations

3. Article 165 TFEU

B. The questions referred in so far as they concern Article 101 TFEU

1. The interpretation of Article 101(1) TFEU

(a) Consideration of the existence of a ‘decision by an association of undertakings’

(b) Consideration of the effect on trade between Member States

(c) Consideration of the concept of conduct having as its ‘object’ or ‘effect’ the restriction of competition and of the categorisation of the existence of such conduct

(1) Categorisation of the existence of conduct having as its ‘object’ the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition

(2) Categorisation of the existence of conduct having as its ‘effect’ the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition

(3) Consideration of the categorisation of the rules requiring clubs to have a minimum quota of ‘home-grown players’ in their teams as a decision by an association of undertakings having as its ‘object’ or ‘effect’ the restriction of competition

(d) Consideration of the possibility of finding certain specific conduct not to come within the scope of Article 101(1) TFEU

2. The interpretation of Article 101(3) TFEU

C. Consideration of the questions referred in so far as they concern Article 45 TFEU

1. The existence of indirect discrimination or an obstacle to freedom of movement for workers

2. Whether there is justification

V. Costs

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Competition – Internal market – Rules introduced by international and national sports associations – Professional football – Private law entities vested with regulatory, control and sanctioning powers – Rules requiring professional football clubs to use a minimum number of ‘home-grown’ players – Article 101(1) TFEU – Decision by an association of undertakings adversely affecting competition – Concepts of anticompetitive ‘object’ and ‘effect’ – Exemption under Article 101(3) TFEU – Conditions – Article 45 TFEU – Indirect discrimination on the basis of nationality – Restriction on the freedom of movement for workers – Justification – Conditions – Burden of proof)

In Case C‑680/21,

REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the tribunal de première instance francophone de Bruxelles (Brussels Court of First Instance (French-speaking), Belgium), made by decision of 15 October 2021, received at the Court on 11 November 2021, in the proceedings

UL,

SA Royal Antwerp Football Club

v

Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL (URBSFA),

intervening party:

Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA),

THE COURT (Grand Chamber),

composed of K. Lenaerts, President, L. Bay Larsen, Vice-President, A. Arabadjiev, K. Jürimäe, C. Lycourgos and O. Spineanu-Matei, Presidents of Chambers, M. Safjan, L.S. Rossi, I. Jarukaitis, A. Kumin, N. Jääskinen, N. Wahl, J. Passer (Rapporteur), M.L. Arastey Sahún and M. Gavalec, Judges,

Advocate General: M. Szpunar,

Registrar: M. Krausenböck, Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 15 November 2022,

after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

– UL, by J.-L. Dupont, S. Engelen, M. Hissel and F. Stockart, avocats,

– SA Royal Antwerp Football Club, by J.-L. Dupont, M. Hissel and F. Stockart, avocats,

– the Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL (URBSFA), by N. Cariat, E. Matthys and A. Stévenart, avocats,

– the Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA), by B. Keane, D. Slater and D. Waelbroeck, avocats,

– the Belgian Government, by P. Cottin, J.-C. Halleux, C. Pochet and L. Van den Broeck, acting as Agents,

– the Greek Government, by K. Boskovits, acting as Agent,

– the Polish Government, by B. Majczyna, A. Kramarczyk‑Szaładzińska and M. Wiącek, acting as Agents,

– the Portuguese Government, by P. Barros da Costa, R. Capaz Coelho and C. Chambel Alves, acting as Agents,

– the Romanian Government, by L.-E. Baţagoi, E. Gane, L. Liţu and A. Rotăreanu, acting as Agents,

– the Swedish Government, by H. Eklinder, J. Lundberg, C. Meyer-Seitz, A. Runeskjöld, M. Salborn Hodgson, R. Shahsavan Eriksson, H. Shev and O. Simonsson, acting as Agents,

– the European Commission, by S. Baches Opi, B.-R. Killmann, D. Martin and G. Meessen, acting as Agents,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 9 March 2023,

gives the following

Judgment

1 This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Articles 45 and 101 TFEU.

2 The request has been made in proceedings between UL and SA Royal Antwerp Football Club (‘Royal Antwerp’), on the one hand, and the Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL (Royal Belgian Football Association; ‘the URBSFA’), on the other, concerning an application to annul an arbitration award dismissing, in part as inadmissible and in part as unfounded, an action for nullity and compensation brought by UL and Royal Antwerp against the Union des associations européennes de football (Union of European Football Associations; ‘UEFA’) and the URBSFA.

I. Legal context

A. The UEFA Statutes

3 UEFA is an association governed by private law, established in Switzerland. According to Article 2 of the version of its statutes adopted in 2021 (‘the UEFA Statutes’), its objectives are, inter alia, to ‘deal with all questions relating to European football’, to ‘monitor and control the development of every type of football in Europe’ and to ‘organise and conduct international football competitions and tournaments at European level for every type of football’.

4 Under Article 5 of the UEFA Statutes, any association based in a European country which is recognised as an independent state by the majority of members of the United Nations (UN) and which is responsible for the organisation of football in that country may become a member of UEFA. Under Article 7^bis of those statutes, membership entails the obligation, for the associations concerned, to comply with, inter alia, the statutes, regulations and decisions of UEFA and to ensure observance of them, in their country, by the professional leagues subject to them and by clubs and players. In practice, more than 50 national football associations are currently members of UEFA.

5 Under Articles 11 and 12 of those statutes, UEFA’s organs comprise, inter alia, a ‘supreme organ’ called ‘the Congress’ and an ‘Executive Committee’.

B. The UEFA and the URBSFA regulations concerning ‘home-grown players’

1. UEFA’s regulations

6 On 2 February 2005, UEFA’s Executive Committee adopted rules stipulating that professional football clubs participating in international interclub football competitions organised by UEFA must include a maximum number of 25 players on the match sheet, which itself must include a minimum number of players categorised as ‘home-grown players’ and defined as players who, regardless of their nationality, have been trained by their club or by a club affiliated to the same national football association for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21 (‘the rules on “home-grown players”’).

7 On 21 April 2005, the rules on ‘home-grown players’ were approved by UEFA’s Congress at the meeting of all the national football associations which are members of UEFA, held in Tallinn (Estonia) (‘the Tallinn Congress’).

8 Since the 2007/2008 season, those rules provide that professional football clubs taking part in an international interclub football competition organised by UEFA must include on the match sheet a minimum of 8 ‘home-grown players’ within a list comprising a maximum number of 25 players. Out of eight players, at least four must have been trained by the club which lists them.

2. The URBSFA’s regulations

9 The URBSFA is an association with its headquarters in Belgium. Its purpose is to ensure the organisation and promotion of football in that Member State. In that respect, it is a member of both UEFA and the Fédération internationale de football association (International Association Football Federation; ‘FIFA’).

10 In 2011, the URBSFA introduced into its federal regulations rules on ‘home-grown players’.

11 In the version applicable during the arbitration proceedings which took place before the main proceedings, those rules were worded as follows:

‘Article P335.11 – Professional football divisions 1A and 1B: submission of the “Squad size limit” list

1. Lists to be submitted

11. All 1A and 1B professional football clubs must submit the following lists … and keep them updated:

– a maximum list of 25 players …, which must include at least 8 trained by Belgian clubs within the meaning of Article P1422.12; at least 3 players must meet the additional requirement laid down in Article P1422.13. If those minimum thresholds are not met, those players cannot be replaced by players who do not satisfy those conditions.

…

Article P1422 – Mandatory inclusion on the match sheet

1. The following rules shall apply to the first teams of professional football clubs:

11. When taking part in official first-team competitions …, professional football clubs shall be required to include on the match sheet at least six players who have been trained by a Belgian club, at least...