Editor's note: Rasoul Rahmani is a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Turku, Finland. His doctoral research examines sports governance and human rights, with a focus on how EU law, particularly recent CJEU rulings, is reshaping the autonomy of sports governing bodies and the institutional implications of these developments.

The Ban and Its Expansion

On 4 June 2025, President Donald Trump imposed sweeping entry restrictions on nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The proclamation made clear that “these restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and non-immigrants”; including those traveling on visitor visas for business and tourism, precisely the category under which World Cup fans would enter the United States.

The President invoked his Executive Order of 20 January 2025, which declared it “the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”[1] Alongside these complete bans, he imposed partial restrictions on seven additional countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The restrictions expanded drastically on 16 December 2025. Five more nations joined the fully banned list; Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria along with individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents. Laos and Sierra Leone were upgraded from partial to full bans. Most significantly, 15 countries were added to the partial restriction category: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

By December 2025, the travel restrictions encompassed 39 countries plus Palestinian Authority passport holders; a staggering expansion of barriers to entry for what is supposed to be a celebration of global unity. 

One Billion People Locked Out

The scale of exclusion is breathtaking. According to the latest population data, the fully banned countries represent 479.3 million people. The partially restricted nations account for another 537.6 million. Combined, over 1.017 billion people, more than one-eighth of the world’s population, face barriers to entering the World Cup’s primary host nation.

This mass exclusion stands in jarring contradiction to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s repeated promises that 2026 would be “the greatest and most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history”; a World Cup  which is projected to have 6.5 million attendees in the host countries. The tournament expanded from 32 to 48 teams precisely to embrace more of the world. Yet as the field grew more diverse, the host country’s doors slammed shut.

Of the 42 nations already qualified for World Cup 2026, four face direct impact  from Trump’s restrictions. Iran and Haiti, home to 104.1 million people combined, are under full entry bans. Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, representing 47.9 million people, face partial restrictions. Among the nations competing for the remaining six spots, Iraq (full ban) and DR Congo (partial restriction) could also qualify, potentially raising the total to six affected teams.

The geographic reality compounds the problem. Of the tournament’s 104 matches, the United States will host 78, while Mexico and Canada together host only 26. For fans from banned or restricted countries, only the handful of matches in Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey remain accessible. The vast majority of the World Cup, including likely knockout rounds in American cities, will be beyond their reach.

The ban carves out exemptions for athletes, coaches, and support staff  competing in “major” events like the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. But fans, athletes’ families, and journalists receive no such consideration. Iranian supporters, who brought 20,000 passionate voices to Qatar 2022, now face a dream deferred. Haiti’s vibrant fan base, a joyful presence at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, finds itself similarly sidelined. The policy creates a two-tier system: the teams can play, but their people cannot watch.

FIFA’s Hollow Response

In a carefully choreographed White House meeting attended by President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the U.S. Department of State unveiled the FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System, dubbed "FIFA PASS", for World Cup 2026 ticket holders attending matches in the United States. The service promises every fan who purchases a ticket the opportunity to obtain a prioritized visa interview.

Yet this solution is nothing more than window dressing. While expedited interviews may help fans from unrestricted countries navigate bureaucracy more smoothly, it remains fundamentally unclear, and deliberately unaddressed, how the system would function for passport holders from the 39 banned or restricted nations. A faster path to rejection is no path at all.

Contrast FIFA’s tepid response with the International Olympic Committee’s principled stand when faced with a comparable situation (not identical). When Indonesia denied visas to Israeli athletes and officials for the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in October 2025, the IOC responded with immediate, forceful condemnation. The organization expressed “great concern” and “regret,” emphasizing that “all eligible athletes, teams and sports officials must be able to participate in international sports competitions and events without any form of discrimination from the host country, in accordance with the Olympic Charter and the fundamental principles of non-discrimination, autonomy and political neutrality.”[2] The message was unambiguous: violate the principles of inclusive access for athletes and support staff, and you forfeit the privilege of hosting.

The comparison to Indonesia is instructive not because the violations are identical-they are not- but because both cases involve host nations imposing discriminatory entry barriers that undermine the inclusive, global nature of international sporting competitions. Indonesia’s complete ban on Israeli participants was more severe in scope; America’s ban affects fans and journalists rather than athletes. Yet both violate the same fundamental principle: that major sporting events should be accessible to all eligible participants and their supporters without discrimination based on nationality.

The IOC treated Indonesia’s violation as a serious breach of Olympic principles requiring immediate consequences. FIFA, by contrast, has treated the U.S. ban as a non-issue warranting no public comment, let alone corrective action. The different responses reveal not different principles, but different calculations about which hosts can be challenged and which cannot.

A Friendship More Valuable Than Principles

FIFA’s paralysis becomes comprehensible when viewed through the lens of Gianni Infantino’s relationship with Donald Trump. Since assuming the FIFA presidency in February 2016, Infantino has cultivated an unusually close bond with the American leader. He has been a frequent White House visitor throughout Trump’s presidencies, their meetings marked by mutual praise and conspicuous displays of camaraderie.

Independent human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Infantino of violating FIFA’s duty of political neutrality. The most egregious example came in December 2025, when FIFA awarded its inaugural Peace Prize to Trump, a sitting political leader presiding over the very policies that exclude a billion people from accessing the World Cup. According to media reports, the FIFA Council was not even consulted on this decision, suggesting it was Infantino’s personal initiative.

Human Rights Watch captured the absurdity with biting clarity: “FIFA’s so-called peace prize is being awarded against a backdrop of violent detentions of immigrants, national guard deployments in U.S. cities, and the obsequious cancellation of FIFA’s own.” anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaigns

That last point deserves emphasis. At the Club World Cup held in the United States in summer 2025, FIFA conspicuously dropped its anti-racism messaging, the very campaigns it had championed at Qatar 2022, where it backed “no discrimination” armbands and introduced enhanced disciplinary codes “to fight racism more efficiently and decisively.” The sudden abandonment of these principles on American soil suggests a troubling calculation: FIFA’s values are negotiable depending on the host’s political sensitivities.

Most damning of all, this close relationship has produced no tangible benefits for the fans Trump’s policies exclude. Both Iran and Haiti, the two fully banned qualified teams, will play all their group stage matches in U.S. cities, not in Canada or Mexico. If Infantino’s friendship with Trump held any real value for the sport, surely it would manifest in exemptions for fans whose teams earned their place on the pitch. Instead, the friendship appears entirely one-directional: FIFA accommodates Trump’s preferences while receiving nothing in return for football’s global community.

The uncomfortable truth is that Infantino seems unwilling to risk his personal relationship with Trump by publicly criticizing policies that fundamentally contradict FIFA’s stated mission. In this calculation, diplomatic access to the White House trumps the organization’s commitment to inclusion, non-discrimination, and the unifying power of football.

Violating FIFA’s Own Statutes

The travel ban does not merely contradict FIFA’s rhetoric; it directly violates the organization’s foundational legal documents. Article 3 of the FIFA Statutes declares: “FIFA is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights.” The commitment is absolute, not conditional on political convenience.

Article 4 goes further, stating that “discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin colour, language, religion, politics, national or social origin, property, birth or any other status is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.” As pointed out by the HRW, the language could hardly be clearer: discrimination based on national origin is not just discouraged, it is grounds for the most severe penalties FIFA can impose.

Article 2a and 2g establishes FIFA’s fundamental objectives, including promoting football “in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values” and preventing “all methods or practices which might jeopardise the integrity of matches, competitions, players, officials and member associations”.[3] A World Cup where qualified teams’ players’ families, supporters, and journalists cannot attend matches, as they are not included in U.S. entry exemptions, fundamentally jeopardizes the competition’s integrity in several interconnected ways. Firstly, the absence of supporters and families strips matches of their cultural and emotional meaning, turning them into hollow simulations rather than genuine contests between nations. Secondly, banning some fans while allowing others creates unfair competitive imbalances unrelated to sporting merit. Thirdly, excluding journalists from affected countries undermines transparent coverage. Finally, excluding vast populations from attending erodes the tournament’s moral and symbolic legitimacy.

FIFA’s Human Rights Policy and the FIFA World Cup 2026 Human Rights Framework reinforce these commitments. The Framework explicitly commits all host cities to stage the tournament “guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” and in line with FIFA’s Human Rights Policy. As mentioned by the Human Rights Watch letter to FIFA, the current United States immigration policies “directly contradict FIFA’s stated values of human rights, inclusion and global participation.”

FIFA itself has stated that “its position on inclusivity and the protection of human rights is unequivocal, and clearly laid out in the FIFA Statutes.” The organization has historically enforced these standards on host nations. During the World Cup 2022, Qatar was subjected to sustained scrutiny and pressure[4] and FIFA ensured the host became fully aware of its responsibility to adhere “to FIFA’s human rights and non-discrimination, equality and neutrality statutes, and committed to do so.” Yet for the United States, a far larger market and a more powerful political entity, FIFA has issued no such reminders, made no such demands, extracted no such commitments.[5] The double standard is glaring. 

The Hypocrisy of Selective Enforcement

FIFA presents itself as a neutral guardian of football’s “fundamental principles,” committed to human rights, unity, and the integrity of the game. Yet its recent decisions reveal a far less principled reality. From the intense moral scrutiny imposed on smaller or geopolitically weaker host nations to the striking restraint shown toward powerful Western states, FIFA’s enforcement of its own standards appears deeply selective. This pattern raises a troubling question: are FIFA’s rules applied universally, or are they calibrated according to political influence, economic power, and market value?

FIFA presents itself as a neutral guardian of football’s “fundamental principles,” committed to human rights, unity, and the integrity of the game. Yet its recent decisions reveal a far less principled reality: a pattern of enforcement that scholars have characterized as operating through “modern human rights frameworks [that are] (largely) Western-led and controlled.”[6] From the intense moral scrutiny imposed on smaller or geopolitically weaker host nations to the striking restraint shown toward powerful Western states, FIFA’s application of its own standards appears calibrated according to political influence rather than universal principles. The contrast between FIFA’s treatment of Qatar 2022 and the United States 2026 exemplifies this troubling inconsistency.

After awarding FIFA World Cup 2022 to Qatar, the Gulf state faced unprecedented international scrutiny. Human rights organizations, media outlets, and civil society groups subjected Qatar to relentless and enormous pressure, focusing on migrant labour conditions, with critics characterizing the kafala system as amounting to forced labour and accusing Qatar of being a slave state,[7] as well as LGBTQ+ rights and restrictions on alcohol consumption. While FIFA initially awarded Qatar the tournament in 2010 without imposing human rights conditions, years of sustained external pressure from the International Labour Organization, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other actors eventually prompted reforms. Qatar became the first Gulf nation to abolish the kafala system, introduce minimum wages, and permit limited trade union activity.[8]

However, such level of moral examination rarely applied to Western hosts. Much of this criticism was justified, but where is the equivalent systematic pressure on the United States, a nation with its own well-documented issues regarding migrant treatment, labour rights, and systemic discrimination, and recent immigration policies that exclude a billion people from accessing the tournament?

The answer is uncomfortable but obvious: the U.S. market is too valuable to jeopardize. American broadcasting rights, sponsorship revenues, and political influence make confrontation unthinkable for FIFA’s leadership. 

This selectivity extends beyond host nation oversight. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, FIFA condemnedthe use of force by Russia and any type of violence that same day. Four days later, on 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA jointly suspended Russian teams from all competitions. Notably, FIFA framed its justification narrowly, citing force majeure and competition integrity[9] rather than human rights violations or illegal war. The response demonstrated that FIFA possesses the will and the mechanisms to act decisively when a geopolitical crisis threatens football’s integrity and continuity.

No similar urgency has materialized regarding U.S. entry restrictions that exclude fans from qualified and non-qualified teams, despite the direct contradiction with FIFA’s statutory commitments. The inconsistency suggests that FIFA’s enforcement of its principles depends less on their violation than on the violator’s geopolitical influence.

When European football associations and UN experts called for action against Israel over its conduct in Gaza and treatment of Palestinian football, FIFA appealed to vague notions of “unity” and avoided substantive measures: “FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems.”  In September 2025, the Trump administration, through its Secretary of State intervened directly to prevent Israel’s suspension, with a spokesperson declaring: We will absolutely work “to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup.”

The message is unmistakable: FIFA’s “fundamental principles” are enforced selectively, calibrated to the political power and market value of the nations involved. Russia can be excluded swiftly; the United States cannot be challenged at all. Smaller nations face stringent human rights requirements; powerful Western states receive diplomatic silence even when their policies directly contradict FIFA’s own statutes.

This pattern raises a fundamental question: is FIFA an independent governing body committed to universal principles, or does it operate within, and defer to, the framework of Western political and economic power? The answer increasingly appears to be the latter.

A Call to Action

This situation demands a response; from FIFA, from fans, and from the global football community. But these responses must take different forms, leveraging different sources of power and accountability. 

• FIFA’s Institutional Obligations

FIFA must break its silence. The Statutes are not suggestions; they are binding commitments with enforcement mechanisms. FIFA must publicly demand that the United States provide exemptions for World Cup fans especially from all qualified nations, regardless of broader immigration policies. This is defending the integrity of FIFA’s own tournament and honouring commitments made when awarding hosting rights.

The goal is not perfect equality of access; economic disparities will always mean that wealthier fans travel more easily than those with fewer resources. What FIFA must ensure is equality in principle: that fans holding legitimate tickets face no discriminatory barriers based solely on their nationality.

If the United States refuses to provide such exemptions, FIFA must be prepared to impose consequences. At least FIFA could relocate affected teams’ matches to Canadian or Mexican venues, ensuring their supporters can attend. It could reduce the number of matches hosted by U.S. cities that fail to guarantee fan access. At minimum, it must publicly document the violation of hosting commitments and ensure this factors into future hosting decisions.

FIFA must also address a fundamental question for its governance framework: Should nations be awarded hosting rights if their immigration policies preclude the inclusive, non-discriminatory access that FIFA’s own statutes require? The organization needs clear, enforceable criteria that apply equally to all candidates, regardless of their geopolitical power or market value. The current situation demonstrates the dangers of awarding tournaments without such safeguards.

National federations, particularly those from affected countries, should formally petition FIFA to address this access crisis through official channels. Player unions can lend their institutional weight to these demands. Media coverage must continue highlighting the contradiction between FIFA’s rhetoric and its complicity through silence. These institutional pressures, channelled through formal FIFA structures, represent the proper mechanisms for holding the organization accountable to its own rules.

• Beyond Institutions: A Fan-Led Protest

Yet even as we demand that FIFA fulfil its obligations, we cannot wait passively for institutional action that may never come. Fans themselves possess a powerful tool: visibility.

When Iran, Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire, or Senegal takes the field in American stadiums, supporters of their opponents, and also neutrals who cherish football’s unifying spirit, should leave sections of seats conspicuously empty in solidarity. These vacant seats, broadcast to millions worldwide, would create an undeniable visual reminder of who is missing and why.

This is not a call for general boycott of the tournament, which would harm the very teams whose fans are excluded. Rather, it is a targeted, symbolic action: empty sections during specific matches as visible protest. Supporters’ groups could coordinate which sections to leave vacant, creating clear visual patterns that television cameras cannot ignore. Social media campaigns could explain the protest to global audiences, connecting the empty seats directly to the billion people locked out. It would demonstrate that football’s community rejects discrimination even when football’s governors tolerate it.

• The Soul of the Game

The beautiful game has always transcended borders and brought together people whom politics seeks to divide. That is its soul, its magic, its moral authority.[10] By allowing Trump’s travel ban to stand unchallenged, FIFA acts in direct contradiction to the values it claims to uphold.

The question is whether those who truly love the game, players, fans, federations, will accept this silence, or whether they will demand that FIFA honour its own principles through every avenue available: formal institutional pressure and visible, grassroots action.

FIFA must use its leverage to ensure equal access in principle. Fans, in turn, must use both their presence and their strategic absence to demand accountability when FIFA fails to act.

The world is watching. The seats are waiting. What will we choose?

[1] Executive Order 14161 “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”, 20 January 2025. Available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-othernational-security-and-public-safety-threats/

[2] More importantly, IOC backed its words with action. Its Executive Board ended all dialogue with Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee regarding hosting future events and recommended that International Federations avoid holding competitions or meetings in the country until adequate guarantees were provided.

[3] FIFA Statutes (Edition August 2024), Articles 2a and 2g.

[4] “The many critiques of Qatar were mobilizing a range of rights-claims based in international treaties or conventions… . Simultaneously, similar claims were being advanced against FIFA for failing to abide by its responsibility to respect human rights. Ultimately, this advocacy and public pressure triggered legislative and policy changes in Qatar and at FIFA.” Antoine Duval & Daniela Heerdt, How the FIFA World Cup 2022 Changed Qatar: Playing the Game of Transnational Law on a Global Pitch, 24 German Law Journal 1677 (2023).

[5] “This contrast underscores how FIFA’s claim to neutrality in human rights matters is not a principled stance but a strategically deployed position that aligns with its broader governance model. When financial interests are involved, FIFA does not hesitate to intervene, demonstrating that it possesses the capacity and institutional mechanisms to enforce binding regulations when deemed necessary. Yet, when it comes to human rights, FIFA’s commitments often remain aspirational, non-binding, or selectively enforced.” Pedro José Jaén, Angeliki Bistaraki & Mathias Schubert, The Universal Game? Deconstructing FIFA’s Human Rights Discourse, The International Sports Law Journal (2025).

[6] Shubham Jain, Resistance and Reform as Responses to Human Rights Criticism: Relativism at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, 24 Ger. Law J. 1691, 1701 (2023).

[7] “Qatar’s migrant workers were literally put on the world’s agenda overnight. The number of publications mentioning Qatar and“migrant workers” issued by the four organizations shows, first, that Qatar’s migrant workers were of very marginal interest to them before 2010 and, second, that their reporting or advocacy on the issue picked up quickly after the attribution of the FIFA World Cup 2022.” Antoine Duval, Spectacular International Labor Law: Ambush Counter-Marketing In the Spotlight of Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup, 24 German Law Journal 1712 (2023). 

[8] Jain, supra note 6 at 1696.

[9] The bureau pointed out that the participation of the Russian teams in these competitions posed potential disruptions due to the refusals of other national associations to play against them, security concerns, and overall uncertainty related to the conflict. See CAS 25 November 2022, 2022/A/8708 (Football Union of Russia v. Fédération Internationale de Football Association et al). 

*The legal justifications advanced by both FIFA and UEFA for the suspension of Russian teams “did not link the suspensions to the illegality of Russia’s war or the human rights violations committed by Russia’s armed forces.” A. Duval, FIFA and UEFA’s Reaction to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: How the Neutrality of Sport Survived the War, 3 Voetbal- & Sportjuridische Zaken (2023).

[10] David Goldblatt, The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football 21–22 (2006).

Editor's note: Marjolaine is a researcher and attorney admitted to the Geneva bar (Switzerland) who specialises in sports and life sciences.

On 25 August 2020, the Swiss Supreme Court (Swiss Federal Tribunal, SFT) rendered one of its most eagerly awaited decisions of 2020, in the matter of Caster Semenya versus World Athletics (formerly and as referenced in the decision: IAAF) following an award of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). In short, the issue at stake before the CAS was the validity of the World Athletics eligibility rules for Athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD Regulation). After the CAS upheld their validity in an award of 30 April 2019, Caster Semenya and the South African Athletics Federation (jointly: the appellants) filed an application to set aside the award before the Swiss Supreme Court.[1] The SFT decision, which rejects the application, was made public along with a press release on 8 September 2020.

There is no doubt that we can expect contrasted reactions to the decision. Whatever one’s opinion, however, the official press release in English does not do justice to the 28-page long decision in French and the judges’ reasoning. The goal of this short article is therefore primarily to highlight some key extracts of the SFT decision and some features of the case that will be relevant in its further assessment by scholars and the media.[2]

It is apparent from the decision that the SFT was very aware that its decision was going to be scrutinised by an international audience, part of whom may not be familiar with the mechanics of the legal regime applicable to setting aside an international arbitration award in Switzerland.

Thus, the decision includes long introductory statements regarding the status of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the role of the Swiss Federal Tribunal in reviewing award issued by panels in international arbitration proceedings. The SFT also referred extensively throughout its decision to jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), rendered in cases related to international sport and the CAS. More...

Editor’s note: Thomas Terraz is a third year LL.B. candidate at the International and European Law programme at The Hague University of Applied Sciences with a specialisation in European Law. Currently he is pursuing an internship at the T.M.C. Asser Institute with a focus on International and European Sports Law.

1.     Introduction

Christmas has come very early this year for the EU sports law world in the form of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) judgment in TopFit eV, Daniele Biffi v Deutscher Leichtathletikverband eV by exclusively analyzing the case on the basis of European citizenship rights and its application to rules of sports governing bodies that limit their exercise. The case concerned an Italian national, Daniele Biffi, who has been residing in Germany for over 15 years and participates in athletic competitions in the senior category, including the German national championships. In 2016, the Deutscher Leichtathletikverband (DLV), the German Athletics Federation, decided to omit a paragraph in its rules that allowed the participation of EU nationals in national championships on the same footing as German citizens. As a result, participation in the national championship was subject to prior authorization of the organizers of the event, and even if participation was granted, the athlete may only compete outside of classification and may not participate in the final heat of the competition. After having been required to compete out of classification for one national championship and even dismissed from participating in another, Mr. Biffi and TopFit, his athletics club based in Berlin, brought proceedings to a German national court. The national court submitted a request for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU in which it asked essentially whether the rules of the DLV, which may preclude or at least require a non-national to compete outside classification and the final heat, are contrary to Articles 18, 21 and 165 TFEU. Articles 18 and 21 TFEU, read together, preclude discrimination on the basis of nationality against European citizens exercising their free movement. The underlying (massive) question here is whether these provisions can be relied on by an amateur athlete against a private body, the DLV.

Covered in a previous blog, the Advocate General’s (AG) opinion addressed the case from an entirely different angle. Instead of tackling the potentially sensitive questions attached with interpreting the scope of European citizenship rights, the opinion focused on the application of the freedom of establishment because the AG found that participation in the national championships was sufficiently connected to the fact Mr. Biffi was a professional trainer who advertised his achievements in those competitions on his website. Thus, according to the AG, there was a sufficient economic factor to review the case under a market freedom. The CJEU, in its decision, sidelined this approach and took the application of European citizenship rights head on.

The following will dissect the Court’s decision by examining the three central legal moves of the ruling: the general applicability of EU law to amateur sport, the horizontal applicability of European citizenship rights, and justifications and proportionality requirements of access restrictions to national competitions. More...

Editor's note: This report compiles all relevant news, events and materials on International and European Sports Law based on the daily coverage provided on our twitter feed @Sportslaw_asser. You are invited to complete this survey via the comments section below, feel free to add links to important cases, documents and articles we might have overlooked.

The Headlines 

Caster Semenya learns that it is not always easy for victims of discrimination to prevail in court

The world of sport held its breath as the Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Matthieu Reeb stood before the microphones on 1 May 2019 to announce the verdict reached by three arbitrators (one of them dissenting) in the landmark case involving the South African Olympic and world champion Caster Semenya. Somewhat surprisingly, the panel of arbitrators came to the conclusion that the IAAF’s regulations requiring female athletes with differences of sexual development to reduce their natural testosterone level below the limit of 5 nmol/L and maintain that reduced level for a continuous period of at least six months in order to be eligible to compete internationally at events between 400 metres and a mile, were necessary, reasonable and proportionate to attain the legitimate aim of ensuring fair competition in female athletics, even though the panel recognised that the regulations were clearly discriminatory. Ms Semenya’s legal team decided to file an appeal against the ruling at the Swiss Federal Tribunal. For the time being, this appears to be a good move since the tribunal ordered the IAAF at the beginning of June to suspend the application of the challenged regulations to Ms Semenya with immediate effect, which means that Ms Semenya for now continues to run medication-free.

Champions League ban looms on Manchester City

On 18 May 2019, Manchester City completed a historic domestic treble after defeating Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup Final. And yet there is a good reason to believe that the club’s executives did not celebrate as much as they would under normal circumstances. This is because only two days before the FA Cup Final the news broke that the chief investigator of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) had decided to refer Manchester City’s case concerning allegations of financial fair play irregularities to the CFCB adjudicatory chamber for a final decision. Thus, the chief investigator most likely found that Manchester City had indeed misled UEFA over the real value of its sponsorship income from the state-owned airline Etihad and other companies based in Abu Dhabi, as the leaked internal emails and other documents published by the German magazine Der Spiegel suggested. The chief investigator is also thought to have recommended that a ban on participation in the Champions League for at least one season be imposed on the English club. The club’s representatives responded to the news with fury and disbelief, insisting that the CFCB investigatory chamber had failed to take into account a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence it had been provided with. They eventually decided not to wait for the decision of the CFCB adjudicatory chamber, which is yet to be adopted, and meanwhile took the case to the CAS, filing an appeal against the chief investigator’s referral.

The Brussels Court of Appeal dismisses Striani’s appeal on jurisdictional grounds

The player agent Daniele Striani failed to convince the Brussels Court of Appeal that it had jurisdiction to entertain his case targeting UEFA’s financial fair play regulations. On 11 April 2019, the respective court dismissed his appeal against the judgment of the first-instance court without pronouncing itself on the question of compatibility of UEFA’s financial fair play regulations with EU law. The court held that it was not competent to hear the case because the link between the regulations and their effect on Mr Striani as a player agent, as well as the link between the regulations and the role of the Royal Belgian Football Association in their adoption and enforcement, was too remote (for a more detailed analysis of the decision, see Antoine’s blog here). The Brussels Court of Appeal thus joined the European Court of Justice and the European Commission as both these institutions had likewise rejected to assess the case on its merits in the past.

Sports Law Related Decisions

• Court of Justice of the European Union (General Court) – Judgment in the case Real Madrid Club de Futbol v European Commission

Official Documents and Press Releases

CAS

• CAS – Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa (ASA) and International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF): Decision
• CAS – Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa (ASA) and International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF): Executive summary
• CAS – Decision in the arbitration procedure between Worawi Makudi and FIFA: Sanction reduced
• CAS – Elections of the Board Members of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS)
• CAS – Weighlifters Mikalai Novikau and Ruslan Nurudinov found to have committed anti-doping rule violations at the London 2012 Olympic Games

FIFA

• FIFA – Adjudicatory Chamber of the independent Ethics Committee sanctions Jose Maria Marin
• FIFA – FIFA Appeal Committee confirms ban imposed on Marco Polo Del Nero
• FIFA – FIFA Appeal Committee passes decision on appeal lodged by Chelsea FC
• FIFA – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to be played with 32 teams
• FIFA – Nine individuals sanctioned for match manipulation
• FIFA – RSC Anderlecht and Belgian Football Association sanctioned for international transfers of minors
• FIFA – Worldwide extension of suspension imposed on intermediaries Carmine and Vincenzo Raiola

IOC

• IOC – From food and uniforms to sponsorship deals: IOC guides to help the Olympic Games and the sports sector adopt sustainable sourcing practices
• IOC – Future Olympic Games elections to be more flexible
• IOC – Independent research conducted on behalf of the IOC demonstrates global strength of the Olympic values
• IOC – IOC Evaluation Commission 2026 begins working visit to Milan-Cortina
• IOC – IOC Evaluation Commission confirms passion and expertise of Milan-Cortina project shaped by Olympic Agenda 2020
• IOC – IOC Executive Board proposes 10 new members for election to the IOC Session
• IOC – IOC releases Evaluation Commission 2026 report
• IOC – IOC sanctions one athlete for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012
• IOC – IOC sanctions two athletes for failing anti-doping tests at London 2012
• IOC – Uncovered: The work and value of the IOC Athletes’ Commission

UEFA

• UEFA – AC Milan referred to CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber
• UEFA – CFCB update on 2018/19 monitoring of clubs under FFP settlements
• UEFA – FK Vardar and PFC Levski Sofia avoid potential exclusion from UEFA club competitions
• UEFA – Law changes to apply from 25 June in UEFA competitions
• UEFA – Manchester City referred to CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber
• UEFA – Three clubs exit FFP settlement agreement
• UEFA – Time for Action: First ever UEFA women’s football strategy launched

WADA

• WADA – Timor-Leste becomes 188^th country to ratify UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention
• WADA – WADA announces self-suspension of the Helsinki laboratory
• WADA – WADA congratulates Presidential nominee Witold Banka
• WADA – WADA Foundation Board moves forward with implementation of governance reforms
• WADA – WADA hails 30^th Anniversary of Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention
• WADA – WADA publishes four new Technical Documents
• WADA – WADA publishes independent report into allegations of improper conduct
• WADA – WADA publishes revised International Standard for Laboratories
• WADA – WADA publishes Stakeholder Notice regarding meat contamination
• WADA – WADA reinstates Bucharest Laboratory
• WADA – WADA statement on refusal of Beckie Scott and Edwin Moses to cooperate with independent investigation
• WADA – WADA successfully retrieves samples from Moscow Laboratory
• WADA – WADA welcomes significant decision by Court of Arbitration for Sport

Other

• AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit) – After Ukraine sprinters’ ban, AIU to extend its blood profiling strategy ahead of the IAAF World Championships Doha 2019
• AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit) – Athletics Integrity Unit and Abbott World Marathon Majors announce new intelligence and testing programme in groundbreaking anti-doping initiative
• Centre for Sport and Human Rights – Mapping accountability and remedy mechanisms for sport
• CIES Football Observatory World football expatriates: Global study 2019
• CIES Sports Intelligence – Governance and financial landscape of top European football clubs
• Council of Europe Ground-breaking international treaty on match-fixing to enter into force in September
• Human Rights Watch – Belarus: Use European games to spur media freedom
• IAAF – IAAF letter to the World Medical Association
• IAAF – IAAF publishes briefing notes and Q&A on female eligibility regulations
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Benjamin D’Hoe suspended and fined for betting on tennis
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Brazilian tennis player Joao Souza provisionally suspended by independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer
• TIU (Tennis Integirty Unit) – Independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer suspends Osman Torski for breach of the Tennis Anti-corruption programme
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Independent members appointed to the Supervisory Board for Tennis Integrity
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Issam Taweel found guilty of match-fixing offences by independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Lifetime ban and $20,000 fine for Helen Ploskina after being found guilty of match-fixing offences
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Nigerian tennis player Henry Atseye provisionally suspended by independent Anti-corruption Hearing Officer
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Suspended sentence and fine for Mohamed Safwat after failing to report corrupt approaches to the Tennis Integrity Unit
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Tennis coach Miguel Tobon suspended and fined for selling wild cards
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – Tennis umpire Svetlana Teryaeva facing sanction after failing to report a corrupt approach to the Tennis Integrity Unit
• TIU (Tennis Integrity Unit) – The Tennis Integrity Unit and Marco Trungelliti
• UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) – UCI declaration concerning E-mountain bike
• UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) – UCI statement on Operation Aderlass
• UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland) – UOKiK will inspect sports associations
• World Medical Association Physician leaders reaffirm opposition to IAAF rules

In the news

Doping

• ESPN Kenya’s Olympic track coach banned 10 years
• Sean Ingle World’s top marathon runners to face innovative anti-doping programme
• Duncan Mackay Critics of WADA decision to reinstate Russia care more about politics than clean sport, claims President Sir Craig Reedie
• Michael Pavitt Arrests made in France over alleged drug trafficking operation
• Michael Pavitt Biathlon Integrity Unit to be set up by IBU in response to doping, fraud and corruption allegations
• Eddie Pells Polish minister to lead WADA; outspoken candidate sidelined
• Dan Roan US proposes making WADA funding conditional on governance reforms and greater transparency
• Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber Russian anti-doping chief calls for dismissal of athletics federation head

Football

• Associated Press FIFA bans South Sudanese official for taking soccer money
• BBC Sport Mino Raiola: Paul Pogba’s agent banned for three months by FIFA
• Andy Brown Bulgaria relegates FC Vereya on receipt of UEFA match-fixing information
• David Conn 2022 World Cup in Qatar to remain as a 32-team tournament, FIFA announces
• David Conn Manchester City accuse UEFA of leaks amid Champions League ban threat
• David Conn Manchester City furious after UEFA investigation is sent for final judgment
• David Conn Premier League clubs’ record £4.8 billion revenues widens gap to rest of Europe
• David Conn Premier League finances: The full club-by-club breakdown and verdict
• David Conn Promotion and relegation part of explosive Champions League plans
• Marina Hyde UEFA’s ‘parking ticket’ fines will not rein in football’s maverick clubs
• Sean Ingle Manchester City and PSG should be thrown out of Europe, says La Liga president
• Amy Lawrence and Sean Ingle Arsenal’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan to miss Europa League final over safety fears
• Liam Morgan Sierra Leone could be welcomed back by FIFA after president and secretary general cleared of corruption
• Tariq Panja A trove of FIFA secrets, locked inside a New Jersey storage locker
• Tariq Panja Bundesliga’s chief executive isn’t keen to join Premier League
• Tariq Panja China’s soccer push takes a new tack: Naturalizing foreign players
• Tariq Panja FIFA drops plan for 48-team World Cup in 2022
• Tariq Panja For Europe’s soccer chief, the outrage arrives in waves
• Tariq Panja In Europe, a bitter battle between clubs and leagues is taking shape
• Tariq Panja In soccer’s biggest elections, accusations are common but challengers are not
• Tariq Panja Powerful Sheikh linked to bribe scheme is still a soccer power
• Tariq Panja Proposal to restructure Champions League leaves out most of Europe
• Tariq Panja Sepp Blatter, who departed FIFA in scandal, wants the watches he left at the office
• Tariq Panja She has friends at FIFA. At home, it’s mostly critics.
• Tariq Panja UEFA investigators set to seek Manchester City’s ban from Champions League
• Martyn Ziegler Europa League final: Azerbaijan, the host country where journalist Rasim Aliyev was killed for criticising Azerbaijan midfielder Javid Huseynov 

Other

• Eyewitness News Kenya drops two female sprinters over testosterone levels
• Nancy Gillen FIVB to refer human rights abuse allegations surrounding Cambodian Volleyball Federation President to ethics panel
• Mark Gleeson South African government instructs athletics body to appeal Semenya decision
• Gerald Imray Defiant Caster Semenya appeals testosterone ruling
• Sean Ingle AIBA threatens to sue IOC if stripped of right to run amateur boxing
• Sean Ingle AIBA stripped of right to run boxing tournament at Tokyo Olympics
• Sean Ingle BeIN Sports chief in World Athletics Championships corruption inquiry
• Sean Ingle Caster Semenya Q&A: The runner’s discrimination case explained
• Sean Ingle Semenya loses landmark legal case against IAAF over testosterone levels
• Sean Ingle Caster Semenya vs. IAAF: The inside story of sporting trial of the century
• Sean Ingle Caster Semenya to run in Doha as Sebastian Coe welcomes CAS ruling
• Duncan Mackay Italian government to sign IOC guarantees for Milan Cortina 2026, including EUR 415 million security budget
• Liam Morgan German athletes group steps up call for increased representation and bigger share of Olympic revenue
• Tariq Panja After Semenya ruling, sports federations ponder what’s next
• Tariq Panja Qatari executive is charged with corruption in IAAF scandal
• Michael Pavitt Bach tells athletes to begin negotiations with NOCs over Rule 40 restrictions
• Michael Pavitt GAISF considers establishing office to lobby European Union and create framework over third-party organisers
• Michael Pavitt UCI President fears ‘serious issue’ after arbitrators asked to choose between working exclusively for CAS or international federations
• Mike Rowbottom Message to the Olympic Movement in the face of new commercial threats – keep the athletes’ eyes on the golden prize
• Mike Rowbottom IOC maintains German athletes’ court decision over Rule 40 is ‘not generally applicable’
• Stephen Wade and Mari Yamaguchi IOC inspectors face report on tough Olympic work conditions
• Martyn Ziegler Sport won’t be overrun by intersex athletes, says Caster Semenya’s expert witness

Academic Materials

Books

•  Johan Lindholm The Court of Arbitration for Sport and its Jurisprudence: An Empirical Inquiry into Lex Sportiva

International Sports Law Journal

• H. Burak Gemalmaz Applicability of Human Rights Standards in Turkish Football Arbitration: The Contribution of the European Court of Human Rights
• Lloyd Freeburn The Fiction of Democracy in FIFA’s Governance of Football and the Case of Football Federation Australia
• Marlaina Lemmon Evening the Playing Field: Women’s Sport as a Vehicle for Human Rights
• Kendra Magraw Separation of Sport and State: Military Salutations at US Major League Soccer Events
• Daniel West Revitalising a Phantom Regime: The Adjudication of Human Rights Complaints in Sport

Other

• April Henning and Paul Dimeo Perceptions of Legitimacy, Attitudes and Buy-in Among Athlete Groups: A Cross-national Qualitative Investigation Providing Practical Solutions
• Seema Patel and Ian Varley Exploring the Regulation of Genetic Testing in Sport

Blog

Asser International Sports Law Blog

• Antoine Duval What Happens in Switzerland Stays in Switzerland: The Striani Judgment of the Brussels Court of Appeals
• Daniela Heerdt Will the World Cup 2022 Expansion Mark the Beginning of the End of FIFA’s Human Rights Journey?
• Thomas Terraz Can European Citizens Participate in National Championships? An Analysis of AG Tanchev’s Opinion in TopFit e.V. Daniele Biffi v Deutscher Leichtathletikverband e.V.
• Thomas Terraz League of Legends European Championships: Challenging the Boundaries of Sport in EU Law
• Marjolaine Viret How Data Protection Crystallises Key Legal Challenges in Anti-Doping

Law in Sport

• Jiri Janak Judicial oversight of sports associations in the Czech Republic – does the new Civil Code strike the right balance between autonomy and intervention?
• Lucio Mazzei The global development of women’s football – a review of the strategies being implemented by FIFA, UEFA and in Italy
• Adam Powell Stadium naming deals: Why clubs and sponsors should always consider their termination rights
• Andrew Reid Football kit supplier deals – lessons for clubs on ‘matching rights’ from the Sports Direct v Rangers FC case
• Celia Rooney Sex on a spectrum in the binary world of sport: The CAS’s decision in the case of Caster Semenya & Ors v the IAAF

Other

• Andy Brown Red herrings, dead cats, apples and oranges: The gender debate
• Steve Cornelius Caster Semenya: The legal and ethical issues that should concern us all
• Sam Knight How Football Leaks is exposing corruption in European soccer
• Steve Magness All of your questions answered on the Caster Semenya controversy
• Despina Mavromati FIM v. KMSC – Arbitration clause in the statutes of a sports federation and Article 75 Swiss Civil Code
• Michael McCann U.S. soccer, Relevent Sports and the legal battle over staging matches on USA soil
• Roger Pielke Jr Caster Semenya ruling: Sports federation is flouting ethics rules
• Roger Pielke Jr. Pielke comments on Semenya/ASA vs. IAAF

Upcoming Events

• 30 June -14 July – CLS Summer School 2019: Global Law of Sport, Patejdlova Bouda, Giant Mountains, Czech Republic
• 30-31 August – Third EU Sports Law and Policy Summer School, Edge Hill University, UK
• 12-13 September – Understand the Rules of the Game 2019: LawInSport Annual Conference, London, UK
• 27-28 September – 8^th International Congress on Football Law, Madrid, Spain
• 13-16 October – Play the Game 2019: Athlete Power on the Rise, Colorado Springs, USA
• 24-25 October – Third Annual International Sports Law Conference of the International Sports Law Journal, T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague, Netherlands

Editor's note: Conor Talbot is a Solicitor at LK Shields Solicitors in Dublin and an Associate Researcher at Trinity College Dublin. He can be contacted at ctalbot@tcd.ie, you can follow him on Twitter at @ConorTalbot and his research is available at www.ssrn.com/author=1369709. This piece was first published on the humanrights.ie blog.

Sport is an integral part of the culture of almost every nation and its ability to shape perceptions and influence public opinion should not be underestimated.  The United Nations has highlighted the potential for using sport in reducing discrimination and inequality, specifically by empowering girls and women.  Research indicates that the benefits of sport include enhancing health and well-being, fostering empowerment, facilitating social inclusion and challenging gender norms.

In spite of the possible benefits, the successful implementation of sport-related initiatives aimed at gender equity involves many challenges and obstacles.  Chief amongst these is the way that existing social constructs of masculinity and femininity — or socially accepted ways of expressing what it means to be a man or woman in a particular socio-cultural context — play a key role in determining access, levels of participation, and benefits from sport.  This contribution explores recent developments in the interaction between transgender and intersex rights and the multi-billion dollar industry that the modern Olympic Games has become.  Recent reports show that transgender people continue to suffer from the glacial pace of change in social attitudes and, while there has been progress as part of a long and difficult journey to afford transgender people full legal recognition through the courts, it seems clear that sport could play an increasingly important role in helping change or better inform social attitudes.More...