RIAS 05

FOREWORD
As to the European Antimonopoly Body these clubs have made profits for
many years without any objective grounding. The special relations with the
regions, their support place fair competition in doubt. Thus the sanctions
followed. Though it is not the time to go into legal details, we should see the
situation as a whole.
The main circumstance is that the regulators have started to treat world sport
leaders such as beyond any doubt Madrid and Barcelona clubs as commercial
entities. It is also important that antimonopoly investigations are conducted in
various jurisdictions. For example, the inquiry is known to have been held in
the Netherlands, in particular The Philips Sport Vereniging was in the spotlight.
The very fact that antimonopoly regulations are applies to sports suprises
many sport professionals. As the business practice, the very essence of
relations between local authorities, city halls and large sport clubs, is being
doubted. Taking the nature of the subject into account, more appeals, new
rulings and long-lasting litigations are to be expected. This would require more
careful and complex work than meeting UEFA financial fair-play requirements.
Here we have an opportunity for a large-scale legal research on harmonization
of UEFA Financial Fairplay Regulations and European Union Antitrust Law
Complications.
But there is a bright side. Sport clubs worldwide were a given a sign that they
should undertake additional legal expertise and formalize relations with their
sponsors and partners more carefully.
Mikael DASHIAN
3