Why CAS challenge may deliver seismic shock to sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is seen as the final authority on legal disputes in law. But a challenge could change all of that.
While English sports lawyers squabble over Profit and Sustainability Regulations, Associated Party Transactions, and the never-ending legal fog surrounding Manchester City – away from the headlines, a legal battle in Luxembourg could end up redrawing the blueprint for international sport.
At its core is a deceptively simple question: should the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) be the final authority on disputes involving EU law? For years, the answer has essentially been yes. Based in Lausanne and operating under Swiss law, CAS has long acted as sport’s Supreme Court– fast, binding, and above national legal systems. But a case currently before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) could change that.
How we got here
It began with Belgian club RFC Seraing, sanctioned by Fifa for violating its ban on third-party ownership of players. The club appealed to CAS and lost – a familiar ending. But Seraing didn’t stop there. They argued in Belgian courts that Fifa’s rules, and CAS’s decision upholding them, breached EU principles on competition and free movement. The case landed before the CJEU, and in a move that has raised eyebrows throughout the legal and sporting worlds, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta issued a striking opinion.
Her view is simple: when arbitration is mandatory and EU law is involved, decisions must be open to review by national courts. In sport, arbitration is rarely a choice. Fifa and Uefa rules compel clubs and players to go to CAS, there is no alternative. And when disputes involve EU rights, like fair competition or the free movement of players, Ćapeta says EU courts must have the final say. She points to Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair hearing. That right, she says, is undermined when decisions affecting EU law can only be reviewed by non-EU courts, like the Swiss Federal Court, with no recourse for challenge within the EU’s own legal system.
The CAS problem
This could be seismic. If the CJEU follows her recommendation, as it often does, national courts across the EU could gain the power to overturn CAS rulings that involve EU law. For the first time, decisions made by Fifa, Uefa or other governing bodies could be reopened in domestic courts, a legal avenue that simply hasn’t existed before.
That might sound technical, but the consequences are anything but. CAS’s power lies in its finality. Undermining that could unleash a wave of litigation, inconsistent decisions across countries, and a weakening of international sports bodies’ ability to enforce their own rules. Clubs or athletes could increasingly turn to local courts to challenge sanctions, transfer bans, or financial regulations, leading to a fragmented, unpredictable legal landscape.
Governing bodies like Fifa and Uefa could be forced to rewrite core sections of their rulebooks, particularly those touching on player movement and commercial restrictions. Arbitration clauses may need a complete overhaul. And this won’t just hit football. Any sport governed through mandatory arbitration, could be drawn into the same legal storm.
Beyond football
And although the UK is no longer part of the EU, English football isn’t immune. Clubs operate across borders, hire EU-based players, and play under the jurisdiction of Uefa and Fifa. If CAS rulings can be challenged in EU courts, the consequences will spill over. Transfer disputes, doping bans, disciplinary issues – any of them could become tangled in European litigation, dragging English clubs into increasingly complex court battles across the pond.
While the spotlight remains fixed on the Premier League’s legal showdowns, a decision that could truly reshape football’s future is quietly unfolding in Luxembourg. Nothing is settled yet – the Advocate General’s opinion carries weight, but it isn’t binding. The CJEU could still back CAS’s special status and leave the current system intact, at least for now. But even if it does, the cracks are visible. The long-standing model of sport settling its disputes behind closed doors, free from full judicial scrutiny, is now facing its most serious legal challenge yet and the consequences could be felt across every level of the game.
Maxime van den Dijssel is a sports and commercial litigation associate at Brandsmiths