ASSER International Sports Law Series – serie

With a Foreword by Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Education and Culture The European Union and Sport: Legal and Policy Documents is the first volume in the T.M.C. Asser Institute series of collections of documents on international sports law containing material on the intergovernmental (interstate) element of international sports law. Previous volumes have dealt with the Statutes and Constitutions of universal sports organizations, their Doping as well as their Arbitral and Disciplinary Rules. The legal and policy texts in the present book are arranged in thematical, alphabetical order and are chronologically subordered per theme. They cover the period since the Walrave judgement in 1974 when the European Court of Justice established that sport is subject to Community law to the extent that it constitutes an economic activity. The book in fact gives adetailed insight into what could be called the ‘EU Sport Acquis’ for the present and future (candidate) Member States. This acquis has been developed over the years in numerous decisions and policy documents by, in particular, the Council, Commission, European Parliament and Court of Justice.  The contents of this book are divided into three parts totalling twenty chapters and covering all themes which the EC/EU has dealt with so far. The General part contains general policy documents such as, for example, the European Model of Sport and the so-called Helsinki Report on Sport. Specific Subjectsconcern Boycott, Broadcasting (in particular the Television without Frontiers Directive), Community Aid and Sport Funding (for example, the Eurathlon Programme), Competition (central selling of tv rights regarding the UEFA Champions League, the German Bundesliga, the English Premier League, etc., Formula One, World Cup ticketing arrangements, players’ agents), Customs, Diplomas (Heylens), Discrimination (Walrave, Dona, Kolpak, and including Women in sport), Doping (Community Support Plan and Pilot Project for Campaigns to Combat Doping in Sport), Education / Youth (European Year of Education through Sport 2004, and documents concerning child protection in sport and trafficking in young footballers), the freedom of establishment to provide services (Deliege) and of movement of workers (Bosman, Lehtonen), the Olympic Games, State Aid, Tax, Tobacco Advertising, Trade Marks (Arsenal/Reed), Vandalism and Violence (football hooliganism) and Miscellanea (Fishing, Horses, Hunting, etc.). The European Union and Sport: Legal and Policy Documents provides an invaluable source of reference for governmental and sports officials, legal practitioners and the academic world. With the increasing public interest in the legal aspects of sports, this collection of documents is a timely and welcome contribution to enhancing the accessibility of basic texts on international sports law and policy.

With a foreword by Luiz Roberto Martins Castro, President Brazilian National Sports Law InstituteThe Court of Arbitration for Sport has come a long way since the idea of establishing it was first mentioned by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the former IOC President, who foresaw the need for a specialised body to resolve sporting disputes outside the normal court system. His aim was for CAS to become the supreme court of world sport; an aim which, this book demonstrates, has been largely fulfilled.It has, in the words of the Swiss Federal Tribunal in a landmark judgement of 27 May 2003, 'built up the trust of the sporting world [and is] … now widely recognised … [as] … one of the principal mainstays of organised sport.'This 'jubilee' book - after twenty years of operations - charts the history, including significant milestones, and achievements of the CAS.

​With a Foreword by Hein Verbruggen, UCI Honorary President for life and IOC MemberThis book deals with the legal position of the athlete in doping cases under the law of the regulations of national and international sports federations and how this legal position can be reinforced.According to the rules of the sports organizations applicable to doping offences, where prohibited substances are found in athlete’s bodily fluids the athlete in question is strictly liable for a doping offence. In the disciplinary procedure there is no discussion about his guilt and the athlete is not given an opportunity to disprove his guilt. One of the starting points of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is that suspects are not guilty until their guilt has been proven conclusively based on the law, which includes the right of defence.The author analyzes the nature of doping offences and puts forward arguments in favour of the application of the rights of the defence as laid down in the ECHR in disciplinary doping proceedings. In his argumentation he also addresses the procedural system of sanctions and the practical and economic consequences the sanctions may have for the athlete concerned.As not only the athlete himself, but also sports clubs and sponsors may suffer serious damage from such sanctions, this book on the strict liability principle will be of great interest to practitioners and academics in more than one field of law. Moreover, it will be a welcome addition to the literature and the continuing debate on doping in sport, which is a matter of great concern to many interested parties.Janwillem Soek is a senior researcher at the ASSER International Sports Law Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands.

​With a Foreword by Dr Ralf-René Weingärtner, Director for Youth and Sport, Council of Europe, StrasbourgThe Council of Europe is unquestionably the body that has made the most substantial contribution to paving the way for a European sports model. The Council of Europe was the first international intergovernmental organisation to take initiatives to establish legal instruments, and to offer an institutional framework for the development of sport at European level. The first stage of the Council of Europe’s work in this field was marked by the adoption of the Committee of Ministers’ Resolution on Doping of Athletes (1967). The extensive work of the Council of Europe on sport is evident through its main instruments on sport, such as the European Sports Charter, the Code of Sports Ethics, the European Convention on Spectator Violence, and the Anti-Doping Convention. Sport co-operation within the Council of Europe is organised in partnership with national governmental and non-governmental bodies.The Council of Europe and Sport: Basic Documents is the second volume in the Asser series of collections of documents on international sports law, containing material on the intergovernmental (inter-state) part of international sports law. The European Union and Sport: Legal and Policy Documents was the first volume devoted to the European Union. In previous other publications, non-governmental materials, i.e. statutes and constitutions, doping rules and regulations, arbitral and disciplinary rules and regulations of the international sports organisations were published.The book provides an invaluable source of reference for governmental and sports officials, legal practitioners and the academic world. With the increasing public interest in the legal aspects of sports, this collection of documents is a timely and welcome contribution to enhancing the accessibility of basic texts on international sports law and policy.

An examination of the special character of sport through European law's microscope reveals the scope of European trade law's adaptability to the particular context in which it is applied. The story of European sports law told through the case law illuminates the way in which European law is exploited by actors as a lever to prise open sometimes long-established organisational patterns. Sport has in recent years become more commercialised and more juridified too. The challenges to its self-regulatory preferences have strengthened and European law plays a significant part in this narrative. It is testimony to the pragmatic and creative approach of the European Commission and the European Court of Justice to the regulation of sport within the Single Market of the European Union, even though there is no specific provision in the EC Treaty giving the EU competence in the field of sport.

With a Foreword by Roger Blanpain, Professor in Labour Law, Universities of Leuven (Belgium) and Tilburg (The Netherlands) and co-founder and first President of FIFPro.Publicly, at least, there appears to be a strong collective will within football to clean up the game, to make the work of players’ agents more transparent and to allow a greater share of the game’s profits to stay within the game. Privately, there seems to be unease that current agent regulation is out of step with football industry norms and that if the sector is to operate effectively, practices which are prohibited by the rules should in fact be tolerated. Here lies the problem. Stringent agent regulation may well look impressive but over-regulation will merely compound the problem of non-compliance and a lack of transparency. Finding the balance which not only addresses the problems facing football and satisfies the supporters and other interested stakeholders but which also satisfies the requirements of national, EU and international law is just one of the many challenges facing football’s governing bodies.What are players’ agents? Why should they be regulated? How should they be regulated? These three apparently simple questions have been tackled throughout this book. The first question appears straightforward as agents perform similar functions throughout the world. However, as the contributions in the book reveal, the manner in which agents operate varies. The questions of why and how to regulate again reveals common themes but also considerable variations in patterns of regulation. In this connection, there are, in effect, three tiers of agent regulation: international law, national law and the law of the sports associations.This book covers the legal regulations governing players’ agents in forty countries around the world, representing the major footballing constituencies including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Russia as well as the “Big Five” in Europe. Written by acknowledged experts, it provides a very useful and informative comparative survey. Indeed, this is a book, which all those involved in the administration of football clubs, particularly, coaches and managers, as well as players’ agents themselves, and commercial, financial and legal advisers, can do hardly do without, as it will provide them with a constant and useful source of reference.

The Sporting Exception in European Union Law is the definitive account of EU sports law. It provides a modern legal framework based on an analysis of major European Court of Justice judgments including Walrave (1974), Don... (1976), Bosman (1995), Deliège (2000), Lehtonen (2000), Kolpak (2003), Piau (2005) and Meca-Medina (2006). It also provides advanced commentary on the major sports-related competition decisions of the European Commission. Broadcasting issues, rules affecting player mobility and issues of sports governance are analysed, as are current issues in EU sports law including the Oulmers case, home-grown players, players' agents, the Services Directive, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the 2006 Independent European Sports Review, the 2007 Commission White Paper on Sport, the Reform Treaty and prospects for social dialogue. The work is a resource for academics, lawyers and sports administrators and students of sports law and EU law programmes.

In its journey towards establishing uniformity, FIFA created a Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) in 2001 to resolve disputes regarding the international status and transfer of players. During the years 2002–2006, exactly 597 decisions of the DRC were published on the website of FIFA. In this book all the relevant decisions of the DRC during that period are analysed and classified into different categories. After a discussion of the most relevant judicial aspects in relation to the DRC, the different categories of disputes, amongst others the termination of the employment contract, the amount of compensation and the sporting sanctions, are discussed in depth. This book can serve as a practical work of reference by all persons working in the field of international football, such as sports lawyers and sports advisers, and also by students, researchers, players, clubs and national associations.

With a Foreword by Dr Alexander Scheuer, Managing Director of the Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels.It is fair to say that our lives in the twenty-first century are, in many respects, dominated by the media and sport; and, when combined, they are a very powerful force and mix indeed. Without the commercial exploitation of broadcasting rights and the resulting spectacular revenues generated, many sports events would never see the light of day.The first part of TV Rights and Sport: Legal Aspects contains several contributions on the very important European Law aspects of sports broadcasting rights in the digital age as well as TV rights relating to major sports events. The second part of the book consists of 27 country studies within and beyond Europe.The authors of the various chapters are all media law and sports law experts and address, from the point of view of the law and practice in their respective countries, amongst others, the following intriguing legal issues: the ownership of broadcasting rights; the commercial exploitation of those rights; and, with sport being such big business nowadays, the impact of competition law, including the vexed questions of the collective sale and purchase of sports broadcasting rights.The book is a veritable mine of useful information and one that can heartily be recommended to all those involved in the creation, promotion, exploitation and protection of sports broadcasting rights around the world. A subject that will continue to challenge sports administrators, event managers, sports marketers, broadcasters and media service providers themselves and regulators, as well as their legal and other professional advisers, for many years to come.The editing team consisted of Prof. Ian Blackshaw, Member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Prof. Steve Cornelius, Director of the Centre for Sports Law, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and Dr. Robert Siekmann, Director of the ASSER International Sports Law Centre.The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. Robert Siekmann and Dr. Janwillem Soek.

With a Foreword by Dr Michal Krejza, Head of  Sport Unit, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, European Commission, BrusselsMuch has changed since the publication of Professional Sport in the EU: Regulation and Re-regulation (edited by Andrew Caiger and Simon Gardiner, The Hague, T.M.C. Asser Press 2000). The present book explores new territory and its scope and tone reflect the maturity of the discipline of EU sports law and policy. The book seeks to balance contributions from established authorities and the best of the new generation of sports law and policy academics.New theoretical insights are revealed which accompany in particular two further sections dealing first with governance and regulatory issues (also including freedom of movement and competition law issues) and second with questions of representation. The issue of the representation of stakeholders within sports governance structures (Social Dialogue between employers/clubs and employees/players) is arguably the most significant development in the last decade and the inclusion of the word ‘Representation’ in the title is merited. Contributions on anti-doping, football hooliganism and sports betting are added to the book.The editing team consisted of Simon Gardiner, Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom, Richard Parrish, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, United Kingdom, and Robert Siekmann, ASSER International Sports Law Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands.This book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Robert Siekmann andJanwillem Soek.

With a Foreword by Professor Wang Xiaoping, Research Center for Sports Law, China University of Political Science and Law (CUPSL) in BeijingThis book examines, from a legal perspective, the numerous developments in the rules and institutions of the Olympic Games from Antiquity to the Modern Era. It offers a well-informed and insightful description and explanation of the so-called Lex Olympica. The book analyses the legal and institutional aspects that arise in the Olympic Movement, like its definition, composition and general organisation, its three principal constituents, its three ‘Satellite Organisations’ and its organs. Further it addresses contemporary legal questions and inherent consequences the Olympic Movement encounters, such as eligibility criteria, legal protection of the Olympic symbol, protection of the environment, advertising and ambush marketing, athletes’ freedom of expression and Olympic boycotts.The book also contains a section of Basic Documents and a list of Selected Writings on the Law of the Olympic Games. It is a valuable tool for sports lawyers, sports managers, sports administrators, governmental and sports officials, as well as researchers and academics with an interest in this field.Alexandre Miguel Mestre is a senior advocate and international sports lawyer. He is a former assistant to the Portuguese Secretary of State for Sport.The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr Robert Siekmann and Dr Janwillem Soek.

It is a pleasure to write this Foreword to the second, expanded edition of Ian Blackshaw’s well-respected book on the extra-judicial settlement of sports disputes through mediation and arbitration. Prof Blackshaw is a master of his subject who explains in clear and straightforward terms the various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods available for dealing with a wide range of different kinds of sports disputes, which are on the increase, not least because of the huge sums of money that are nowadays at stake in sport at the elite level. As I have written elsewhere, “[t]he unique investment of competitive egos, emotions, expec- tions, and money in international sports almost guarantees a dividend of highly charged disputes…. . [and] [t]he structure for resolving them is complex. ” Dispute resolution, is one of the most critical issues which overshadow the sports arena. As Prof Blackshaw rightly points out however, ADR is “not a panacea” for settling all kinds of sports disputes, and so the role of the courts must not be underestimated. This is true in both Europe and the United States of America, where I practice and teach international sports law. The expanded version of this book includes a more in-depth study of the functions and role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and also a review of the contribution of CAS to an emerging so-called ‘Lex Sportiva’.

Sports marketing is not only a global phenomenon, but also a major industry in its own right. This book breaks new ground in that it combines the theory and the practice of sports marketing agreements, which are at the heart of the commercialisation and marketing of sport. A particular feature of this book is the wide-ranging collection of precedents of sports marketing agreements, including, inter alia, sponsorship, merchandising, TV rights and new media, sports image rights and endorsements, event management and corporate hospitality, that are included and are explained and commented on in the text of the book. The book also covers the EU aspects, which are particularly important in this context, especially collective selling, of Sports TV rights and the drafting of the corresponding agreements; as well as the fiscal aspects of sports marketing agreements in general and sports image rights agreements in particular, which need to be taken into account in order to reduce the tax burdenon the resulting revenues. With so much money at stake in sports marketing, the book also deals with the important topic of dispute resolution and, again, provides the reader with some useful corresponding clauses for settling disputes by ADR, particularly through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). As the author remarks in his Preface, the aim of the book is to provide a leading resource for all those engaged in any way in the money-spinning field of sports marketing, combining - as this book uniquely does - both the theory and the practice of drafting, interpreting and enforcing a variety of sports marketing agreements, especially those with an international dimension.

Gambling is a significant global industry, which is worth around 0.6% of world trade, that is, around US$ 384 billion; and gambling on the outcome of sports events is a very popular pastime for millions of people around the world, who combine a bet with watching and enjoying their favourite sports. But, like any other human activity, sports betting is open to corruption and improper influence from unscrupulous sports persons, bookmakers and others. Sports betting in the last ten years or so has developed and changed quite fundamentally with the advent of modern technology – not least the omnipresence of the Internet and the rise of on-line sports betting. This book covers the law and policy on sports betting in more than forty countries around the world whose economic and social development, history and culture are quite different. Several chapters deal with the United States of America. This book also includes a review of sports betting under European Union (EU) Law. The book appearsin the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

FIFA has accepted the jurisdiction of the CAS as from 11 November 2002. This date does not mark the beginning of the arbitration of the CAS in football matters, however it has to be stated, that from this date on football disputes in front of the CAS increased enormously. This book is dedicated to the most important decisions of the CAS in football disputes. These awards are analyzed by experts, practicing all over the world. Most of the authors have been directly involved in the proceedings before the CAS. The commentaries cover a broad spectrum of disputes, inter alia, disputes concerning the contractual stability, protection of young football players, doping, football hooliganism, match fixing, players release, multiple club ownership, player agents and the stays of execution. This book provides a wide range of valuable information and is a useful tool for those whose main concern is professional football, such as sports lawyers, sports managers and sports agents, but also academicsand researchers. The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

The important theme “What is Sports Law?” was the topic of the international Conference on “The Concept of Lex Sportiva Revisited”, which took place in Jakarta in late 2010. Academics and practitioners are still in debate to agree on this concept as is evident in this book. This book not only contains the worked out contributions of this Conference, but also other related chapters on the subject. It produces a reassessment of the content of Sports Law and its terminology keeping a close eye on the current literature.The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Prof. Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

Sports marketing is not only a global phenomenon, but also a major industry in its own right. This book breaks new ground in that it combines the theory and the practice of sports marketing agreements, which are at the heart of the commercialisation and marketing of sport. A particular feature of this book is the wide-ranging collection of precedents of sports marketing agreements, including, inter alia, sponsorship, merchandising, TV rights and new media, sports image rights and endorsements, event management and corporate hospitality, that are included and are explained and commented on in the text of the book. The book also covers the EU aspects, which are particularly important in this context, especially collective selling, of Sports TV rights and the drafting of the corresponding agreements; as well as the fiscal aspects of sports marketing agreements in general and sports image rights agreements in particular, which need to be taken into account in order to reduce the tax burdenon the resulting revenues. With so much money at stake in sports marketing, the book also deals with the important topic of dispute resolution and, again, provides the reader with some useful corresponding clauses for settling disputes by ADR, particularly through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). As the author remarks in his Preface, the aim of the book is to provide a leading resource for all those engaged in any way in the money-spinning field of sports marketing, combining - as this book uniquely does - both the theory and the practice of drafting, interpreting and enforcing a variety of sports marketing agreements, especially those with an international dimension.

The book is an introduction to sports law, in particular International (worldwide) and European (EU) sports law. The chapters are all put in the perspective of the innovative sports law doctrine that is developed and presented in the opening chapter on what sports law is. After a general coverage of the core concept of “sport specificity” (that is whether private sporting rules and regulations can be justified notwithstanding they are not in conformity with public law), the book covers the following specific main themes of International and European Sports Law (capita selecta): comparative sports law; competition law and sport; the collective selling of TV rights; sports betting; Social Dialogue in sport; sport and nationality; professional football transfer rules; anti-doping law in sport; transnational football hooliganism in Europe; international sports boycotts. In this book association football (“soccer”) is the sport that is by far most on the agenda. It is the largest sport in the world and most popular all over the globe. The elite football in Europe is a day-to-day commercialized and professionalized industry, which makes it a perfect subject of study from an EU Law perspective.

This book undertakes a critical examination of commercial rights to sports mega-events (focusing on sponsorship), the exclusivity of such rights and the legal implications of the modern mega-event sponsorship model. It examines ambush marketing of events and the law’s treatment of ambushing (specifically in the form of sui generis event legislation) in a review of 10 major jurisdictions selected on the basis of the importance of the events they are to host in the near future or have hosted recently, and the relevant domestic legislation. It critically examines the legitimacy of such commercial rights protection by means of the use of laws in the context of accepted principles of intellectual property law, competition law and human rights law. Specifically, it questions the legitimacy of the creation of statutory ‘association rights’ to mega-events, and considers potential future developments in respect of the law’s treatment of mega-event commercialisation.Valuable for practitioners and academics (in the fields of sportslaw/sponsorship/marketing/intellectual property law); sports administrators (sports governing bodies); corporate sponsors of sports and other events; potential mega-event host governments and law-makers; civil rights organisations.

During the past decade, the media landscape and the coverage of sports events have changed fundamentally. Sports fans can consume the sports content of their choice, on the platform they prefer and at the time they want. Furthermore, thanks to electronic devices and Internet, content can now be created and distributed by every sports fan. As a result, it is argued that media regulation which traditionally contains rules safeguarding access to information and diversity would become redundant. Moreover, it is sometimes proposed to leave the regulation of the broadcasting market solely to competition law.This book, illustrates that media law is still needed, even in an era of abundance, to guarantee public’s access to live and full sports coverage.Dealing with the impact of new media on both media and competition law this book will greatly appeal to academics and stakeholders from various disciplines, such as legal and public policy, political science, media and communications studies, journalism and European studies. Additionally it contains valuable information and points of view for policy makers, lawyers and international and intergovernmental organisations, active in media development. The book contains an up-to-date analysis and overview of the different competition authorities’ decisions and media provisions dealing with the sale, acquisition and exploitation of sports broadcasting rights.Katrien Lefever is Senior Legal Researcher at IBBT - The Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and ICT (ICRI), KU Leuven, Belgium.The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Prof. Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

This book accounts for over 25 of the most influential cases in international sports law, as written by some of the leading authorities in the area. Authors from Europe, the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand trace the evolution of this emerging discipline of law through an analysis of individual cases, as discussed under a number of key debates and themes in contemporary sports law, including: the “public” nature of legal disputes in sport; player employment mobility litigation; doping and the spirit of sport; TV rights holding proceedings; and enduring themes in sports law such as on-field violence, spectator safety, animal welfare and gender equality.Valuable for sports law academics, arbitrators and practitioners, sports administrators and governing bodies, but also for students (postgraduate and undergraduate) and all those with an interest in international sports law.

European Sports Law: Collected Papers 2nd edition contains the collected works (1989-2012) of Stephen Weatherill, Jacques Delors Professor of European Community Law, Somerville College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, with an extensive introduction on the background and rationale for the selected papers.Stephen Weatherill is a leading academic and author on the subject of European Union law and professional sport. His work is of the highest academic standard and practice-oriented at the same time, which has a strong impact on major court cases and the development of international sports law in general.The updated 2nd edition is a vademecum for those involved with international sport and the challenges European law and sport provide and is an indispensable tool for administrators, managers, researchers, academics, marketers, broadcasters, advisers and practitioners.The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series (ISSN: 1874-6926), under the editorship of Dr. David McArdle, Dr. Ben Van Rompuy and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

FIFA has accepted the jurisdiction of the CAS as from 11 November 2002. This date does not mark the beginning of the arbitration of the CAS in football matters, however it has to be stated, that from this date on football disputes in front of the CAS increased enormously. This book is dedicated to the most important decisions of the CAS in football disputes. These awards are analyzed by experts, practicing all over the world. Most of the authors have been directly involved in the proceedings before the CAS. The commentaries cover a broad spectrum of disputes, inter alia, disputes concerning the contractual stability, protection of young football players, doping, football hooliganism, match fixing, players release, multiple club ownership, player agents and the stays of execution. This book provides a wide range of valuable information and is a useful tool for those whose main concern is professional football, such as sports lawyers, sports managers and sports agents, but also academicsand researchers. The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

The book is an introduction to sports law, in particular International (worldwide) and European (EU) sports law. The chapters are all put in the perspective of the innovative sports law doctrine that is developed and presented in the opening chapter on what sports law is. After a general coverage of the core concept of “sport specificity” (that is whether private sporting rules and regulations can be justified notwithstanding they are not in conformity with public law), the book covers the following specific main themes of International and European Sports Law (capita selecta): comparative sports law; competition law and sport; the collective selling of TV rights; sports betting; Social Dialogue in sport; sport and nationality; professional football transfer rules; anti-doping law in sport; transnational football hooliganism in Europe; international sports boycotts. In this book association football (“soccer”) is the sport that is by far most on the agenda. It is the largest sport in the world and most popular all over the globe. The elite football in Europe is a day-to-day commercialized and professionalized industry, which makes it a perfect subject of study from an EU Law perspective.

This book undertakes a critical examination of commercial rights to sports mega-events (focusing on sponsorship), the exclusivity of such rights and the legal implications of the modern mega-event sponsorship model. It examines ambush marketing of events and the law’s treatment of ambushing (specifically in the form of sui generis event legislation) in a review of 10 major jurisdictions selected on the basis of the importance of the events they are to host in the near future or have hosted recently, and the relevant domestic legislation. It critically examines the legitimacy of such commercial rights protection by means of the use of laws in the context of accepted principles of intellectual property law, competition law and human rights law. Specifically, it questions the legitimacy of the creation of statutory ‘association rights’ to mega-events, and considers potential future developments in respect of the law’s treatment of mega-event commercialisation.Valuable for practitioners and academics (in the fields of sportslaw/sponsorship/marketing/intellectual property law); sports administrators (sports governing bodies); corporate sponsors of sports and other events; potential mega-event host governments and law-makers; civil rights organisations.

This book accounts for over 25 of the most influential cases in international sports law, as written by some of the leading authorities in the area. Authors from Europe, the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand trace the evolution of this emerging discipline of law through an analysis of individual cases, as discussed under a number of key debates and themes in contemporary sports law, including: the “public” nature of legal disputes in sport; player employment mobility litigation; doping and the spirit of sport; TV rights holding proceedings; and enduring themes in sports law such as on-field violence, spectator safety, animal welfare and gender equality.Valuable for sports law academics, arbitrators and practitioners, sports administrators and governing bodies, but also for students (postgraduate and undergraduate) and all those with an interest in international sports law.

Katarina Pijetlovic is the first author to address the issue of breakaway leagues in football and their treatment under EU law. In this book she guides the reader through EU sports law, the specificities of the sporting industry and the problems and power struggles in European football governance in the context of the breakaway threats by elite clubs. In order to analyse the legality of UEFA clauses that restrict the formation of such breakaway structures, the author first provides a progressive interpretation of the applicable EU sports law and an in-depth analytical review of EU sports cases decided under internal market and competition provisions, including a novel perspective on the UEFA home-grown rule and the Bosman case. Thereafter, she sets out an original theory of convergence between TFEU provisions on competition and the internal market in the light of sporting exceptions. Finally, in applying the legal principles thus outlined Katarina Pijetlovic explores the legality of the restrictive UEFA clauses and the case for the formation of alternative leagues in European football under EU sports law. A number of surprising outcomes emerge from this analytical process. Conversely, she also tests the largely neglected issue of the legality of forming a breakaway league by the European elite football clubs.The systematic way in which the reader is guided through EU sports law and the legal issues under consideration makes the book accessible for EU lawyers as well as non-EU sports lawyers, on both an academic and a practitioner’s level.Katarina Pijetlovic holds licentiate and doctoral degrees in EU sports law from the Universityof Helsinki. The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. David McArdle, Prof. Ben Van Rompuy and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

This book is a comprehensive, practice-oriented guide to the evidentiary regime under the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) including the functioning of the Athlete Biological Passport. It is the first to show how the interplay between science and law affects the collection and evaluation of evidence in anti-doping, and how paradigm shifts in anti-doping strategies may modify evidentiary assumptions implicit to the WADC regime.Unique in its dealing with the subtleties of anti-doping science and legal implications, the book gives lawyers involved in anti-doping the keys to a better understanding of the science underlying the WADC regime, while providing anti-doping scientists with the first reference material to understand the legal framework in which their activities are embedded.The emphasis of the book is on international doping cases and it relies predominantly on CAS awards published up to Spring 2015. Written by an experienced Swiss lawyer it provides an insightinto the Swiss legal system and its importance for the legal practice in doping matters.Marjolaine Viret is an attorney-at-law in Geneva, Switzerland, specialising in sports and health law. She has gained significant experience in sports arbitration as a senior associate in one of Switzerland’s leading law firms. She also holds positions within committees in sport, in particular as a member of the UCI Anti-Doping Commission. Ms Viret had her doctorate on anti-doping approved summa cum laude in 2015. She participates as a researcher in a project for a commentary of the 2015 WADC funded by the National Science Foundation and is regularly invited to lecture or speak in various fields of sports law.The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. Dave McArdle, Prof. Dr. Ben Van Rompuy and Marco A. van der harst LL.M.

This book brings together a number of perspectives on how different European states have responded to the phenomenon of football crowd disorder and violence, or “hooliganism”. It applies a comparative legal approach, with a particular focus on civil and human rights, to analyze domestic legislation, policing and judicial responses to the problem of “football hooliganism” in Europe.Academics and legal professionals from eight different European countries introduce and analyze the different approaches and draw together common themes and problems from their various jurisdictions. They offer insights into the interactions between (domestic) politicians, law enforcers and sports authorities.The book is important reading for scholars and practitioners in the fields of law, sports law, sociology and criminology, and for all those concerned with questions of law enforcement and human rights. While it perfectly fits the curriculum for postgraduate studies in the fields mentioned, it is also highly recommended as secondary reading for undergraduate students.Dr. Anastassia Tsoukala is tenured Associate Professor at the University of Paris XI, France.  Dr. Geoff Pearson is Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law at the University of Manchester’s Law School, Manchester, United Kingdom. Dr. Peter Coenen was Assistant Professor of Law at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.