The request for a preliminary ruling in Case C-133/24, CD Tondela and others (enclosed) was submitted by the Tribunal da Concorrência, Regulação e Supervisão in Portugal. The central issue concerns an agreement between the main professional football clubs in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and Segunda Liga. The agreement, made on 7 April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, stipulated that these clubs would not sign any professional football players who had unilaterally terminated their...
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28
Jun
2024
Did the Pandemic Agreement Among Portuguese Football Clubs Violate EU Competition Law?
On 16 February 2024, the Portuguese competition tribunal submitted a request for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding an anti-competitive agreement among Portuguese football clubs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The core question is whether the agreement aligns with EU competition regulations and the specific nature of sports under Article 165 TFEU, balancing its objectives against its restrictive effects on player mobility and market competition.