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State aid for professional football clubs and sports infrastructure

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Abstract

On 4 July 2016, the European Commission concluded its investigation into alleged State aid given to several Dutch and Spanish professional football clubs. The central question that the Commission had to decide in each case was whether the behaviour of the Dutch and Spanish authorities had been in line with the so-called ‘Market Economy Operator’ test. With the exception of two Dutch football clubs, the Commission found that all clubs under investigation had been the recipient of State aid, which in respect of the Spanish clubs was not compatible with the internal market.

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Notes

  1. Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2008] OJ C 115/47.

  2. Cases C-415/93 Bosman, EU:C:1995:463 and C-325/08 Olympique Lyonnais, EU:C:2010:143.

  3. See e.g. Commission Decision SA.33584 State aid to Dutch football clubs [2013] OJ C 116/19.

  4. See e.g. Commission Decision SA.40168 State aid for the professional football club Willem II in Tilburg [2017] OJ L 16/28.

  5. Commission Notice on the notion of State aid as referred to in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [2016] OJ C 262/1, para. 74.

  6. Commission Decision SA.33584 State aid to Dutch football clubs [2013] OJ C 116/19, paras. 42–44.

  7. Ibid., para. 61.

  8. Commission Decision SA.41613 Aid to Dutch Football Club PSV [2016] OJ L 282/75, paras. 47–66.

  9. Commission Decision SA.41612 Aid to Dutch Football Club MVV [2016] OJ L 282/53, para. 27.

  10. Ibid., para. 35.

  11. Commission Decision SA.40168 State aid for the professional football club Willem II in Tilburg [2017] OJ L 16/28, para. 33.

  12. Ibid., para. 35.

  13. Commission Decision SA.41617 Aid to Dutch Football Club NEC [2016] OJ L 320/40, para. 56.

  14. Ibid., para. 63.

  15. Commission Decision SA.41614 Aid to Dutch Football Club Den Bosch [2016] OJ L 306/19, paras. 51–53.

  16. Ibid., paras. 58–59.

  17. Community Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty [2004] OJ C 244/2. The application of those guidelines was prolonged by the Commission communication concerning the prolongation of the application of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty of 1 October 2004 [2012] OJ C 296/2.

  18. See e.g. Commission Decision State aid for the professional football club Willem II in Tilburg [2017] OJ L 16/28, para. 45.

  19. See e.g. Commission Decision State aid for the professional football club Willem II in Tilburg [2017] OJ L 16/28, para. 56.

  20. Ley 10/1990, de 15 de octubre, del Deporte, BOE de 17 de Octubre de 1990.

  21. Ley 10/1990, de 15 de octubre, del Deporte, BOE de 17 de Octubre de 1990, Seventh Additional Disposition.

  22. Commission decision SA.29769 Aid to certain Spanish football clubs [2016] OJ L 357/1, paras. 56, 60.

  23. Commission decision SA.33754 Aid to Real Madrid-ES [2016] OJ L 358/3, para. 91.

  24. Ibid., para. 93.

  25. Commission decision SA.36387 Aid to Valencia football clubs [2017] OJ L 55/12, para. 56. The guarantees at issue were granted by the Instituto Valenciano de Finanzas (IVF). As the State had a clear and direct influence on IVF, guarantees provided by the IVF constitute State resources and are imputable to Spain.

  26. Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees [2008] OJ C 155/2.

  27. Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees [2008] OJ C 155/2, para. 3.2.

  28. Commission decision SA.36387 Aid to Valencia football clubs [2017] OJ L 55/12, para. 86.

  29. Commission decision SA.29769 Aid to certain Spanish football clubs [2016] OJ L 357/1, paras. 86–87.

  30. Four actions for annulment against the recovery decision are currently pending before the General Court: T-865/16, T-846/16, T-845/16 and T-679/16.

  31. Commission decision SA.33754 Aid to Real Madrid-ES [2016] OJ L 358/3, paras. 134–135.

  32. Commission decision SA.33754 Aid to Real Madrid-ES [2016] OJ L 358/3, para. 142.

  33. Real Madrid has brought an action for annulment before the General Court against Commission decision SA.33754 ordering recovery of the aid: T-791/16.

  34. Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees [2008] OJ C 155/2, para. 4.2.

  35. The three Valencian football clubs each brought actions for annulment before the General Court against the Commission’s decision ordering recovery of the aid: T-766/16R, T-732/16 R, T-901/16 and T-134/17.

  36. See: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/modernisation/index_en.html.

  37. Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty [2014] OJ L 187/1.

  38. E.g. Case C-288/11 Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG and Flughafen Leipzig-Halle GmbH v Commission, ECLI:EU:C:2012:821.

  39. Art. 5 Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty [2014] OJ L 187/1.

  40. Art. 1(4)(c) Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty [2014] OJ L 187/1.

  41. Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1084 of 14 June 2017 amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 as regards aid for port and airport infrastructure, notification thresholds for aid for culture and heritage conservation and for aid for sport and multifunctional recreational infrastructures, and regional operating aid schemes for outermost regions and amending Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 as regards the calculation of eligible costs [2017] OJ L 156/1.

  42. Art. 55(2) Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty [2014] OJ L 187/1.

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  1. Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Turfmarkt 147, 2511DP, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Lukas Ament

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  1. Lukas Ament
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Ament, L. State aid for professional football clubs and sports infrastructure. ERA Forum 19, 87–100 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-018-0497-4

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