(Reuters) -The International Skating Union (ISU) cannot penalise speed skaters if they compete in new money-spinning events, the European Union’s top court said on Thursday as it upheld earlier orders.
The case centred on a complaint by Dutch Olympic speed skaters Mark Tuitert and Niels Kerstholt after ISU threats of a lifetime ban stopped them from competing in lucrative Ice Derby events run by a South Korean company.
The European Commission in a 2017 ruling said the sport’s governing body had imposed “disproportionately punitive” sanctions on skaters, preventing the emergence of rival events in violation of EU antitrust rules.
The EU Court of Justice said ISU’s rules that forbid skaters from taking part in any competition it does not organise are not transparent nor proportionate.
“They give the ISU a clear advantage over its competitors and have unfavourable effects for athletes as well as consumers and broadcast audiences,” the court said.
Legal experts in sports-related cases have said the decision could affect other sports and become as significant as the 1995 court ruling involving Belgian soccer player Jean-Marc Bosman, which paved the way for the free movement of players in the EU.
The case could, for example, make it easier for unofficial and breakaway events and competitions to be set up without the approval of a sport’s governing body.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Jason Neely and Alison Williams)
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