A PYMNTS Company

Lithuanian Watchdog Says National Basketball League Broke Antitrust Laws

By  |  November 18, 2021
Basketball

The Lithuanian competition authority Konkurencijos taryba found that the Lithuanian Basketball League (Lietuvos krepšinio lyga – LKL) and 10 basketball clubs concluded an anti-competitive agreement when they decided not to pay basketball players salaries or other financial remuneration for the rest of the season after the termination of the basketball championship 2019–2020 due to the pandemic. The infringement of the Law on Competition and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union resulted in fines ranging from Eur 1,070 to EUR 16,510.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The authority launched the investigation into a suspected anti-competitive agreement in April 2020, after evaluating public discussions on the exchange of the terms of payment relating to basketball players‘ salaries, which were held between the LKL and basketball clubs.

    Konkurencijos taryba found that during the extraordinary meeting of the board, which took place on 13 March 2020, the LKL and 10 basketball clubs decided to terminate the 2019–2020 championship due to the coronavirus pandemic, applying the force majeure clause, and agreed not to pay salaries and remuneration for basketball players for the rest of the championship, starting from 13 March 2020.

    The conclusion of the anti-competitive agreement was also evidenced by e-mail correspondence between the representatives of the clubs, which contained negative reactions to some of the clubs that deviated from the agreement to pay salaries to basketball players only until 13 March.

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.