SPORT

The Court has, on several occasions, been called upon to settle disputes essentially concerning sport and in particular on the right to information and the accessibility of broadcasts in relation to sports competitions.

In 1995, the Court held that footballers are workers who are thus free to accept employment with the club of their choice at the end of their contract without their new club being liable to pay any fee in that respect. Since that judgment, football clubs may put forward a team for a national championship in which no player has the nationality of the country in which the championship is taking place ( judgment of 15 December 1995, Bosman, C-415/93).

The Court further confirmed in 2013 that the Member States may require the free broadcasting of football matches in the World Cup and the EURO (judgment of 18 July 2013, UEFAvCommission, C-201/11). Also in 2013, the Court held that the authorities may restrict broadcasting fees for short extracts from football matches, such that television channels may make short news reports at a lower cost (judgment of 22 January 2013, SkyÖsterreich, C-283/11).