Sports and Competition Law: A Not-So-Special Relationship?

the European Union's (EU) Court of Justice handed down a trilogy of judgments on the application of EU antitrust rules to sports competitions, namely in European Superleague (ESL) (C-333/21), 1 International Skating Union (ISU) (C-124/21) and Royal Antwerp (C-680/21). 2 At the heart of all three cases is the extent to which competition law may interfere with the autonomy of sports' governing bodies.But there is a lot to unpack in the judgments.As Advocate General Szpunar posited in his opinion in FIFA v BZ (C-650/22), the rulings constitute ''a considerable effort of synthesising and summarising prior case-law''.The Court's Grand Chamber did not only attempt to streamline common questions relating to the special relationship between sports and competition law.It also took the chance to touch upon crucial aspects relating to the nature and scope of Arts.101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).A quick look at the facts is essential to understand the substantive issues at stake.The ESL ruling was undoubtedly the most anticipated.The Superleague was a 20-team breakaway competition announced in April 2021, conceived by 12 major European football teams.It was to run beyond the clutches of the Fe ´de ´ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).The news prompted an immediate backlash from football fans, associations, players, managers and even key political figures, including