ABSTRACT
In the International Skating Union (ISU) case, is the plaintiff ‘on a mission to defend the weaker party’? Drawing on ongoing doctoral research, this first of two discipline-specific case studies focuses on athletes as the main actors, but also on their structurally weak position in litigation of this kind. In recent years, EU competition law has proven itself an efficient instrument for challenging restrictive policies and decisions of SGBs. Sports undertakings, such as breakaway leagues and promoters, not integrated in the official structure of sport but striving to get a share of the markets for the organisation and exploitation of sports events, have been particularly keen to use this tool. Nevertheless, it is individual athletes who are the most vulnerable subjects in the sports industry and who, according to the author, should take advantage of competition law in the first place. In their relations with SGBs, athletes are placed de facto in the position of the weakest party. In order to participate in official competitions, they have no alternative rather than to adhere to SGBs’ rules and policies. Athletes – especially in the less economically developed sports disciplines – are also normally weaker economically. Finally, SGBs possess a well-established network in the industry and are better equipped in case of disputes. The statistics of CAS awards demonstrate the overwhelming success of sports institutions when these confront athletes in the framework of an arbitration procedure. The chapter looks at the reasons why and how individual athletes should benefit from EU competition law and, most importantly, why it will be vital for the functioning of sport in general.
