Tag: competition law
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Fast but fair? interim injunctions and the fast-track procedure in the Competition Appeal Tribunal
For claimants in competition cases, timing can be everything. Access to a key supplier, data feed, or distribution channel can make or break a business—especially for smaller players going up against incumbents. In the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), two mechanisms are particularly relevant when urgent intervention is needed: interim injunctions and the Fast-Track Procedure (FTP).…
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Strasbourg calling – ECHR majority CLEARS Competition Wiretap Case (But mind the dissenters)
Ships Waste Oil Collector B.V. and Others v The Netherlands, Joined cases 2799/16, 2800/16, 3124/16 and 3205/16, Judgment of the ECHR Grand Chamber of 01/04/2025 Just as fishing inevitably results in bycatch, law enforcement wiretaps often capture information unrelated to the original investigation. This incidental data can raise complex legal questions—especially when it reveals evidence…
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FIFA vs Agents: 1-0 at halftime – AG Emiliou Defends FIFA’s Football Agent Regulations
Introduction In two significant cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Advocate General Emiliou (the AG) delivered his eagerly awaited opinions in RCC Sports v FIFA (C-209/23) and ROGON v German Football Association (C-428/23) on 15 May 2025. The same day, the AG also published his opinion in the case Tondela…
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The CJEU rules in the Diarra case – FIFA’s transfer rules restrict free movement and competition
From a competition law perspective, sport is, in some ways, unlike other industries. It may be driven by ideals other than profit, such as sporting merit and fair play. It also only functions through collaboration: associations, leagues and clubs need to agree on fixture dates and kick-off times, amongst other things. But sport also involves…
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Competition law in sports: it’s time to talk about merger control
When the US hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, it was said to have spent $500 million on the tournament. Fast forward to 2022, Qatar reportedly spent a whopping $220 billion. Sport is now “big business” . . . and being big business means competition law scrutiny. There are three main fields of competition…
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AG Opinion in FIFA v BZ – Further competition trouble for football rules
Most professional football transfers happen when a player is free to leave because their contract expires, or when current club, player, and new club come to a mutual transfer agreement. But the world is not perfect. Situations arise where a player does not live up to expectations or does not feature in the manager’s plans.…
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Royal Antwerp – Breaking new ground in antitrust in labour markets
To ensure a steady supply of football talent, professional football clubs must do their bit to invest in grassroots football. To incentivise this investment, UEFA and several national football associations introduced “home-grown player rules”, which dictate that a minimum number of players on the match sheet must be home-grown. However, a player, supported by Royal…
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Three/O2 – EU merger control test clarified? (And lions in Regent’s Park)
“Formalistic”, “reductionist”, “selective and unbalanced or even deficient”. Advocate General Juliane Kokott did not mince her words in last week’s Opinion on the General Court’s judgment in CK Telecoms, in which she asks the Court of Justice to annul the judgment and refer the case back to the General Court. An AG Opinion is an…
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Apple v AliveCor – What it tells us about future MedTech antitrust battles
There was an interesting development at the intersection of Big Tech and medical devices in California this week, as Justice Jeffrey S. White largely denied Apple’s motion to dismiss a claim from AliveCor in the US District Court, Northern District of California, alleging that Apple unlawfully monopolised the U.S. market for watchOS heart rate analysis…