The German online ticket resale company TICOMBO denounced the Belgian State and the UEFA for abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive practices for applying measures that, in their opinion, impede or de facto prohibit resale.
In the case of UEFAthe company filed a complaint with the European Commission considering that the federation violated the competition rules of European Union about ticket resale, specifically for Euro 2024, as reported by the company on Tuesday.
“Even in jurisdictions where the law allows the resale of tickets, the UEFA “proclaims itself as a market resale monopoly through abusive terms and conditions, thereby excluding other operators, including platforms that operate with a high level of security, and harmful to consumers,” they said in a statement.
Besides UEFA engages in pricing practices that the company considers “abusive” by ensuring that tickets are not resold at a price lower than the initial sale price, something that according to TICOMBOconsumers can do on their platform for certain sporting events.
In the case of the Belgian State, the company brought the case to the Court of First Instance of Brusselsseek compensation for damages and submit a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the EU to determine whether Belgian law is compatible with European legislation.
The firm specifically challenges the 2013 Belgian law on the resale of event tickets, which requires prior authorization from organizers for resale, which “generally prohibits any form of resale” and violates the European Market Services Directive, according to the company.
“The current legal restrictions, although designed to ensure the integrity of cultural and sporting events, are ineffective, excessive and discriminatory because they subject all operators to the same provisions even the their operating policies can vary greatly from one operator to another,” he said. . the platform.
The company also notes that other countries, such as France or Italy, also apply this type of restrictions which by default lead to a ban on consumer resale unless previously authorized by the organizers.
“The monopoly granted to the organizers by some law or self-proclaimed by the organizers themselves not only weakens the activity of reputable operators in the secondary market, but directly harms the interests of consumers by subjecting them to unreasonable and disproportionate restrictions,” criticized. the company. .
The German company is represented by a law firm Dupont-Hisselwhich also participates in the defense of the interests of the Super League, also in its case for abuse of dominance against UEFA before European courts.
This is not the first time that an international sports federation has been accused of anti-competitive practices: last December, the CJEU considered the rules of FIFA and the UEFA that makes any new competition project subject to prior authorization violates the Law of the Union, as well as the rules of the International Skating Union that approve athletes participating in competitions not authorized by that federation.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
