Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany) lodged on 11 July 2023 – ROGON GmbH & Co. KG, MVI Management GmbH and DC v Deutscher Fußballbund e. V. (DFB)

(Case C-428/23, ROGON and Others)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant, appellant on a point of law and respondent in the appeal on a point of law: ROGON GmbH & Co. KG, MVI Management GmbH, DC

Defendant, respondent in the appeal on a point of law and appellant on a point of law: Deutscher Fußballbund e. V. (DFB)

Questions referred

The questions referred for a preliminary ruling concern the interpretation of Article 101 TFEU:

Do the principles developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the judgments in Wouters of 19 February 2002 (C-309/99) and Meca Medina of 18 July 2006 (C-519/04 P), according to which, when applying the rule prohibiting cartels,

–    account must be taken of the overall context in which the decision in question was taken or produces its effects and, more specifically, of its objectives,

–    and according to which it has then to be considered whether the decision’s consequential effects restrictive of competition are inherent in the pursuit of those objectives,

–    and whether they are proportionate to those objectives (‘the Meca Medina test’),

apply to the regulations of a sports association, which are addressed to members of the association and regulate the use of services of undertakings outside the association on a market upstream of the association’s activities?

If question 1 is answered in the affirmative: in that case, must the Meca Medina test be applied to all the provisions of those regulations, or does its application depend on substantive criteria, such as the proximity or remoteness of the individual rule to the sporting activity of the association?

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