European Union Law & Sports Arbitration: Academic Reflections Ahead of the Naples Event

I am pleased to announce my participation in the forthcoming seminar “European Union Law and Sports Arbitration,” hosted by the Department of Law of the University of Naples Federico II. The event will take place on 19 November 2025 at 15:30 in Room A1, Via Marina 33, and will convene scholars and practitioners engaged in the study of EU law and sports dispute resolution.

The programme includes contributions from:

Fabio Ferraro – Opening remarks
Roberto Mastroianni – Chair (Former Judge at the General Court of the European Union)
Giovanni Zarra – Director of the Advanced Course in EU Law: The Protection of Rights
Maria Beatrice Deli – Universitas Mercatorum
Angelo Gigliola – Fidanzia Gigliola Law Firm

Organized in collaboration with the Advanced Course in European Union Law: The Protection of Rights, the seminar aims to foster a critical discussion on the evolving interaction between EU governance structures and arbitration mechanisms in the sports sector.

This topic has acquired renewed relevance in light of recent jurisprudence. The Seraing judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union has reopened the debate on the applicability of EU competition law to private regulatory frameworks within professional football, clarifying the extent to which sports-governing bodies must comply with EU legal standards. In parallel, the Semenya decision of the European Court of Human Rights has brought fundamental rights considerations to the forefront, highlighting the need to reconcile sports regulatory autonomy with the protection of individual rights under the ECHR system.

Taken together, these developments demonstrate the increasing judicial scrutiny to which sports regulation and arbitration are subject, and they raise important questions regarding the balance between self-regulation, effective dispute resolution, and compliance with European legal orders.