Advising on the structure and defence of financial sustainability rules in European club football.
Overview
UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules were introduced to improve the financial health of European club football.
The rules include break-even requirements designed to ensure that clubs participating in European club competitions balance their spending with their revenues and limit the accumulation of excessive debt.
Benoît Keane has advised on the structure and defence of these rules in the context of EU competition law.
Benoît’s Role
- Advice on the structure of financial sustainability rules
- Competition law analysis
- Assessment of market dynamics
- Defence of the regulatory framework in competition proceedings
- Advice on the legal design of sports regulations
The Challenge
Financial regulation in professional sport must balance a number of competing considerations.
Rules designed to promote financial sustainability must also be assessed against the requirements of EU competition law.
The legal challenge therefore involved examining the structure of the regulatory framework, the relevant market dynamics and the relationship between financial sustainability objectives and competition law principles.
The Approach
Benoît advised on the design and legal structure of financial sustainability regulations.
His work involved analysing the competition law implications of the rules and advising on the defence of the regulatory framework in the context of competition scrutiny.
He also acted in proceedings concerning the compatibility of the Financial Fair Play Regulations with EU competition law.
The Significance
Financial sustainability remains a central issue in the governance of professional sport.
The design of financial regulations requires a careful understanding of both the objectives pursued by the rules and the legal framework governing competition.
This case study illustrates the importance of integrating EU competition law considerations into the design of sports regulation from the outset.
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