Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2004:282
Date: 2004-09-30
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Competition;Agreements, decisions and concerted practices;Freedom to provide services;Dominant position
Concepts: General;Matters covered;Objectives and foundations of the Community
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Spain;Slovenia

Summary of the Judgment 1. Community law – Scope – Sport – Limitation to economic activities (Art. 2 EC) 2. Freedom of movement of persons and services – Workers – Competition – Treaty provisions – Scope – Sporting activities – Limits – Anti-doping rules – Not included (Arts 39 EC, 49 EC, 81 EC and 82 EC) 1. Having regard to the objectives of the Community, sport is subject to Community law only in so far as it constitutes an economic activity within the meaning of Article 2 EC. (see para. 37) 2. Where a sporting activity takes the form of paid employment or a provision of remunerated service, it falls within the scope of Article 39 EC et seq. or of Article 49 EC et seq. Therefore, the prohibitions laid down by those provisions of the Treaty apply to the rules adopted in the field of sport which concern the economic aspect which sporting activity can present. On the other hand, those prohibitions do not affect purely sporting rules, that is to say rules concerning questions of purely sporting interest and, as such, having nothing to do with economic activity. That restriction on the scope of the above provisions of the Treaty must however remain limited to its proper objective. Those principles, extracted as regards the application to sporting regulations of the Treaty provisions in respect of the freedom of movement of persons and services, are equally valid as regards the Treaty provisions relating to competition. The fact that purely sporting rules may have nothing to do with economic activity, with the result that they do not fall within the scope of Articles 39 EC and 49 EC, means, also, that they have nothing to do with the economic relationships of competition, with the result that they also do not fall within the scope of Articles 81 EC and 82 EC. Conversely, rules which, although adopted in the field of sport, are not purely sporting but concern the economic activity which sport may represent fall within the scope of the provisions both of Articles 39 EC and 49 EC and of Articles 81 EC and 82 EC and are capable, in an appropriate case, of constituting an infringement of the liberties guaranteed by those provisions. Since the prohibition of doping is based on purely sporting considerations and therefore has nothing to do with any economic consideration, the rules to combat doping laid down by sports organisations do not come within the scope of the Treaty provisions on the economic freedoms and, in particular, of Articles 49 EC, 81 EC and 82 EC. (see paras 39-42, 47)