The main «sports» cases of the EU court: Simutenkov Case

Igor Simutenkov - Soviet and Russian football player, master of sports of the USSR. In 1999, Simutenkov moved from the football club "Bologna" (Italy) to the Spanish football club "Tenerife".

Igor Simutenkov, being a citizen of Russia, had quite big problems with entering the field, because he was a representative of the "third state" in relation to the EU countries, so he had little playing time. Simutenkov decided that this was discrimination against him, since there was a Treaty on partnership and cooperation between the Russian Federation and the European communities and their member States of 24 June 1994. According to this treaty, any citizen of the Russian Federation who carries out their work in the EU is subject to the European regime of working conditions, remuneration and dismissal, where there can be no discrimination on the basis of citizenship. Simutenkov filed a lawsuit against the Spanish Football Federation. Initially, the case was considered in the court of first instance, and a decision was made in favor of Igor, but soon the Spanish Tribunal overturned the decision of the court of first instance, because it considered such proceedings beyond the jurisdiction of this judicial body. Simutenkov filed an appeal, which the higher court referred to the EU court.

The problem was that the Treaty between Russia and the EU was drawn up in several languages, and the clause that dealt with discrimination on the basis of nationality was interpreted by States in different ways. For example, in the Russian text of the Treaty, this rule was an imperative and was assumed to be a direct rule, while in the Spanish text it was stated that this was rather an objective that States should strive for.

In 2005, the court concluded that this rule has a direct effect and must be fully observed. The court in its decision recognized the victory of Igor Simutenkov, which meant the removal of the status of "Legionnaire" from any athlete from Russia competing on the territory of the EU.

The details of the case: Arrêt du 12 avril 2005, Simutenkov/Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Real Federación Española de Fútbol, C-265/03

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