Michel Platini, president of the European football federation, UEFA, has found an ally in his bid to get the special character of sport recognised within the EU.
Fellow Frenchman Jean Pierre-Jouyet, minister for EU affairs, is backing UEFA's ‘specificity of sport' campaign. They want new measures that will defend the role of sport and the benefits it brings to society – ranging from health to social cohesion to integration. Jouyet and his Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans met Platini at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland on 24 April, along with the heads of the associations for basketball, rugby, volleyball, handball and ice hockey.
Declaration
Together they agreed a declaration on the role of sport, stressing the need to promote training, improve the governance of clubs, oversee the work of agents and work to guarantee the stability and security of sports federations. They also agreed to ask the European Commission to clarify the status of sport in relation to a number of points of EU law and to propose concrete measures that would encourage and protect sports.
Shelter
This is the latest attempt to provide some shelter for football and other team sports from the effects of rulings under EU law on competition and free movement. These include the European Court of Justice's 1995 Bosman ruling, which confirmed the rights of players to leave clubs at the end of their contracts without payment of a fee. In another case, the 2006 Meca-Medina ruling involving two cyclists, the court confirmed that sport was subject to EU competition and free movement law provided the legislation was proportionate to the objectives – in this case efforts to stamp out doping.
Specificity of sport
If sport is treated like any other economic activity, argue UEFA and other sports bodies, its ability to bring social benefits could be jeopardised. Platini led a campaign – ultimately unsuccessful – to get clauses stressing the ‘specificity of sport' into the new Lisbon Treaty. Sporting bodies have also been disappointed with the European Commission's attitude.
The July 2007 white paper on sport, drafted by EU Culture Commissioner Jan Figel', did not accept the argument for a special status for sport.
The Commission's view is that where there are clear economic interests at stake, the game should be covered by the usual competition rules – in areas such as the handling of revenues from televising matches and the freedom of clubs to select players regardless of nationality.
Rules are clear
The Commission has also been reluctant to issue guidelines on how certain aspects of EU law apply to sports, believing that the existing rules are clear.Seeking a privileged status for sport under EU law fits well with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's desire to present the EU as more social and human and not merely technocratic.
But the firm support in the Commission and a majority of EU governments for the current approach may make it difficult for Sarkozy to deliver changes.
