The main «sports» cases of the EU court: the Lehtonen case

Another interesting case was analyzed by the European Court of Justice in June 1999. Jyri Lehtonen, a basketball player from Finland, made a transfer to the Belgian basketball club Castors Braine in violation of the transfer window deadline. Jyri Lehtonen and his new club did not have time to meet the transfer deadline legally. The Belgian Basketball Federation refused to register the player. For this reason, the deal was declared invalid, and for violating the rules for transferring a basketball player from one club to another, Castors Braine was punished for the result of the winning match, where Lehtonen played. The team was awarded a technical defeat.

After the events, Jyri Lehtonen and Castors Braine tried to challenge the decision of the Federation in a court. The claim was sent to the court of first instance in Brussels. After reviewing the case file, the Brussels court referred it to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary decision. The court accepted the documents for consideration and again recognized that sports activities fall under the regulation of the European Community. But at the same time, the European Court of Justice ruled that the rules of the Belgian Basketball Federation regarding the transfer policy for professional basketball clubs do not contradict the EU rules, since they relate exclusively to the sporting interest and are the guarantors of the sporting principle of integrity in the management of the main values of sport. Moreover, the court decided that the regulations of the Federation also act as a guide for the correct, rational functioning of the entire basketball sports field.

During the proceedings in the case, the court again identified sports as an integral part of its activities and those of the entire Community. In this case, the judges were guided by other precedents, such as the Bosman case, the Dona case, and the Walrave case, for a correct and fair decision.

The details of the case: case C-176/96, Lehtonen and Castors Canada Dry Namur-Braine v. Federation Royale des Societes de Basketball and Ligue Belge-Belgische Liga

The source: Nosyreva I. G., "Regulation of sports in the EU (analysis of the practice of the EU court of justice)".