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RFC Seraing v FIFA: Final score?

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07 November 2025 / Dr Estelle Ivanova
Issue: 8138 / Categories: Features , Profession , Sports law , Arbitration , International , EU , Competition , Public
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The whistle has blown on RFC Seraing v FIFA, in which sports arbitration was pitted against EU competition law: Dr Estelle Ivanova explains the result at full time
  • In RFC Seraing v FIFA, the Belgian football club challenged sanctions imposed by FIFA in relation to third-party ownership rules, arguing that the rules are incompatible with EU law.
  • The Court of Justice of the European Union held that Court of Arbitration for Sport awards are legally binding, and that they may indeed be reviewed by EU member state courts, but only where such awards relate to matters of EU public policy.
  • The judgment was unequivocal: the full effectiveness of EU law takes precedence, even over the cherished doctrines of res judicata and procedural autonomy.

The long-awaited judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the case of RFC Seraing v FIFA (Case C-600/23) was handed down on 1 August 2025. The case posed the delicate question:

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