On Friday, December 8, Brussels ordered the International Skating Union (ISU) to change its rules after deciding its threat of a lifetime ban was an “extreme” restriction on speed skaters.
The EU said that threatening a lifetime ban for athletes participating in unapproved events served to protect the ISU’s “commercial interests and prevent others from setting up their own events.”
Margrethe Vestager, European Competition Commissioner said “International sports federations play an important role in athletes’ careers – they protect their health and safety and the integrity of competitions. However, the severe penalties the International Skating Union imposes on skaters also serve to protect its own commercial interests and prevent others from setting up their own events.”
Sporting bodies can limit an athlete’s participation if they have objective concerns about an outside event — for example safety, anti-doping or match-fixing. However penalties for breaking those rules need to be proportionate. The Commission found the ISU’s rules were “disproportionately punitive”, deprived athletes of “additional sources of income during their relatively short speed skating careers” and prevented “the emergence of independent international speed skating competitions.”
Full Content: Europa & Reuters
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Federal Antitrust Trial Explores Potential Impact of Tapestry-Capri Merger
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Australia Targets Big Tech with New Fines for Misinformation
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Mastercard to Acquire Cybersecurity Firm Recorded Future for $2.65 Billion
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Ireland Prime Minister: Apple’s €13 Billion Payment Could Fund Housing and Capital Projects
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Regulators Probe Swisscom’s $8.8 Billion Vodafone Italia Deal
Sep 12, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Canada & Mexico
Sep 3, 2024 by
CPI
Competitive Convergence: Mexico’s 30-Year Quest for Antitrust Parity with its Northern Neighbor
Sep 3, 2024 by
Francisco Javier Núñez Melgoza
Competition and Digital Markets in North America: A Comparative Study of Antitrust Investigations in Mexico and the United States
Sep 3, 2024 by
Julio Garcia
Recent Antitrust Development in Mexico: COFECE’s Preliminary Report on Amazon and Mercado Libre
Sep 3, 2024 by
Alejandra Palacios Prieto
The Cost of Making COFECE Disappear
Sep 3, 2024 by
Mateo Fernández