Here is our press release of today:

Judgment of the CJEU in the case of RFC Seraing v FIFA, UEFA and URBSFA (C-600/23): the CJEU, sitting in Grand Chamber, ruled that the arbitral awards of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Switzerland), since they result from compulsory arbitration imposed by the statutes of FIFA, UEFA and their members, have no res judicata effect within the European Union or even any probative force

Consequently, the national courts of the Member States of the European Union can and must verify the compatibility of such awards resulting from compulsory arbitration with the rules of EU public policy, including in particular competition law and the freedoms of movement. Those courts must also be able to suspend the enforcement of such awards immediately (interim measures).

The following link provides access to the CJEU press release:

https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2025-08/cp250104en.pdf

As counsel for RFC Seraing, ‘DUPONT-HISSEL’ states:

- We welcome the content of the judgment, which is fully in line with the position defended by RFC Seraing for more than 10 years and which essentially follows the conclusions of Advocate General CAPETA.

- In view of this judgment, it is clear that the particularly severe disciplinary sanctions imposed on RFC Seraing by FIFA, and upheld by the CAS, were the result of a procedure that was completely unlawful under EU law. The serious damage caused must now be fully compensated.

- The CJEU's judgment applies not only to compulsory arbitration before the CAS resulting from the statutes of FIFA, UEFA and their member associations, but also to all other compulsory arbitration imposed by the statutes of most international sports federations.

- In summary, the CJEU has put an end to the procedural deception by which international sports federations attempted to evade the genuine application of EU law by imposing compulsory arbitration outside the EU.

- During the proceedings before the CJEU, RFC Seraing was also assisted by Fernando Irurzun (Clifford Chance, Madrid), Mark Orth (MEO Law, Munich) and Florent Stockart (Elegis, Liège).

About "Dupont-Hissel"

Jean-Louis DUPONT and Martin HISSEL are specialists in European law, particularly as applied to the sports sector. "Dupont-Hissel" has defended hundreds of cases, acting on behalf of all stakeholders in the professional sports sector, before the CJEU, the European Commission, the European Court of Human Rights, national competition authorities, national courts, international (including CAS) and national arbitration tribunals, and the internal judicial bodies of national and international sports associations. In particular, they have led o co-managed cases that resulted in landmark judgements of the CJEU regarding sports governance in the EU and beyond : Bosman (1995), Meca-Medina (2006), Royal Antwerp FC (2023), European Super League (2023), Lassana Diarra (2024) and RFC Seraing (2025).

Jean-Louis Dupont          Martin Hissel
EU & Sports Law