On August 1, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its judgment in the case concerning the Belgian club Royal Football Club Seraing, resolving the preliminary ruling requested by the Belgian Cour de Cassation.
The case involved the RFC Seraing club, FIFA, UEFA, the Royal Belgian Football Association (URBFSA) and the Maltese fund Doyen Sports, and arose from the application of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the RSTP) and its prohibition of transactions involving IPTs/TPOs.
The judgment concludes that EU law requires the non-application of a national rule which confers the authority of res judicata and special probative value vis-à-vis third parties on awards rendered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in disputes relating to the practice of sport—understood as an economic activity—within EU territory, if the compliance of those CAS awards with EU public policy has not been effectively reviewed beforehand by the EU courts.
Our attorneys Alberto Fortún and Borja Álvarez (Sports Litigation and Arbitration) analyze this important judgment, examining its background and implications.