The Sporting Exception in EU Law
Angelo Giacomini Ribas
© 2011
Introduction – The rise of the relationship between European Union law and Sport
Until the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, sport was not mentioned in any of the EU Treaties, hence the European Union (EU) had no legislative competence to regulate the sports sector until December 2009. Nevertheless, the Treaty of Rome (TFEU) has broad provisions regulating the functioning of the whole economy, which established, inter alia, the principles of free movement of workers (Art 45 TFEU) and freedom to provide services (Art 56 TFEU), and also the strict rules of the EU competition law (Arts 101 and 102 TFEU, respectively prohibition of restrictive arrangements between “undertakings ” and prohibition of abuse of a dominant position). Despite not being explicitly within the competence of the EU, as sport has important economic aspects Leia mais
