Case C-600/23, Royal Football Club Seraing: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 August 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation – Belgium) – Royal Football Club Seraing SA v Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA), Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA), Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL (URBSFA) (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 19(1) TEU – Obligation of Member States to provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law – Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Right to an effective remedy – Possibility of recourse to arbitration – Arbitration between individuals – Imposed arbitration – Decision of a body of an international sports federation imposing a sanction – Award by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld by a decision of a court of a third State – Legal remedy against the arbitral award – National legislation conferring on that arbitral award the authority of res judicata between the parties and probative value vis-à-vis third parties – Powers and obligations of the national courts before which that arbitral award is relied on – Effective review of the consistency of such an arbitral award with the principles and provisions falling under EU public policy)
Date: 2025-08-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: arbitration, judicial review, preliminary ruling procedure, professional sport, proof, right to justice, ruling, sports body








C_202505064EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/5064


29.9.2025






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 August 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation – Belgium) – Royal Football Club Seraing SA v Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA), Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA), Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL (URBSFA)


(Case C-600/23,
                (1)
Royal Football Club Seraing)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 19(1) TEU - Obligation of Member States to provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law - Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Right to an effective remedy - Possibility of recourse to arbitration - Arbitration between individuals - Imposed arbitration - Decision of a body of an international sports federation imposing a sanction - Award by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld by a decision of a court of a third State - Legal remedy against the arbitral award - National legislation conferring on that arbitral award the authority of 
res judicata
 between the parties and probative value vis-à-vis third parties - Powers and obligations of the national courts before which that arbitral award is relied on - Effective review of the consistency of such an arbitral award with the principles and provisions falling under EU public policy)
(C/2025/5064)
Language of the case: French

Referring court

Cour de cassation

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant, appellant and appellant in the appeal on a point of law: Royal Football Club Seraing SA

Defendants, respondents and respondents in the appeal on a point of law: Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA), Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA), Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL (URBSFA)

Interested party: Doyen Sports Investment Ltd

Operative part of the judgment

The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU, read in conjunction with Article 267 TFEU and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as precluding






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the authority of res judicata from being conferred within the territory of a Member State on an award made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), in the relations between the parties to the dispute in the context of which that award was made, where that dispute is linked to the pursuit of a sport as an economic activity within the territory of the European Union and the consistency of that award with the principles and provisions of EU law which form part of EU public policy has not first been subject to effective review by a court or tribunal of that Member State that is authorised to make a reference to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling;










—


probative value from being conferred, as a consequence of that authority of res judicata, on such an award within the territory of that Member State, in the relations between the parties to that dispute and third parties.






(1)  OJ C, C/2024/707.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/5064/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)