European Sports Law and Policy Bulletin THE BERNARD ... - Slpc.eu

EUROPEAN SPORTS LAW AND POLICY BULLETIN 1/2010THE OLIVIER BERNARD JUDGMENT: A SIGNIFICANT STEPFORWARD FOR THE TRAINING OF PLAYERSby Julien Zylberstein∗SUMMARY: Introduction – 1. Clarification of the legal status of compensation designedto cover the training costs of young athletes – 1.1 A case that appears to followECJ case law concerning the freedom of movement of athletes – 1.1.1 The practiceof professional sport, the subject of the dispute – 1.1.1.1 Subjection of the soleeconomic dimension of sport to the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Treaty– 1.1.1.2 Classification of an athlete who has completed his training as a workerunder EU law – 1.1.2 An incomplete legal argument? – 1.1.2.1 Purely sportingrules generally considered to be outside the scope of the principle of free movementof workers disregarded – 1.1.2.2 The Court’s silence on the inapplicability ofcompetition law in this case – 1.2 Reasonable treatment of training compensation– 1.2.1 Rejection of the assimilation of the situation of a player who has completedhis training period with that of a player at the end of his contract – 1.2.1.1 Trainingcompensation: an obstacle to the free movement of workers – 1.2.1.2 An obstacleto Article 45 TFEU proportionate to the protection of training – 1.2.2 Strict definitionof the means of calculating training compensation – 1.2.2.1 Taking into accountactual training costs – 1.2.2.2 A measured solution? – 2. A consensual legaldevelopment that supports federations’ efforts to protect and promote the trainingof young players – 2.1 A judgment in line with the initiatives taken by football’sgoverning bodies – 2.1.1 Partial and implicit endorsement of football’s currentinternational transfer system? – 2.1.2 A solution beneficial to the UEFA rules onlocally trained players – 2.2 The unanimity of the EU institutions on the importanceto be attached to the promotion of training – 2.2.1 Repeated declarations of intent– 2.2.2 Recognition of the social benefits of training implicit in the wording ofArticle 165 TFEU?IntroductionShortly after the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which gives the European____________________∗UEFA Legal Counsel, EU Affairs Advisor. The views expressed in this article are those of theauthor alone and do not necessarily reflect those of UEFA.