A blog about competition law and policy
Traditionally, the UK has had a two-stage decision making process for merger cases. First, there were two separate organisations, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission (CC). The OFT would carry out the first phase review of a merger (“Phase 1”) and, if there were reasonable prospects that the merger would result … Continue reading All change for the UK merger regime – Except the standard of review?
2026 is set to be another important year for claimants and class representatives seeking redress for competition law infringements in the UK. While questions about legal thresholds for the proper functioning of the regime have not fallen away entirely – particularly following the Supreme Court’s judgment in Evans – they are no longer the key … Continue reading From Blueprints to Outcomes: UK Competition Litigation Trends to Watch in 2026
Do the fundamental rights to the protection of private life (Article 7 of the Charter[1]) and of personal data (Article 8 of the Charter[2]) preclude competition authorities from seizing professional emails during inspections without prior judicial authorisation? This is the question addressed by Advocate General (“AG”) Medina in her Opinions of 20 June 2024[3] (“First … Continue reading Balancing Fundamental Rights and Antitrust Enforcement: AG Medina’s Opinions on Email Seizures in IMI/Synlabhealth II
On 15 October, the General Court (“GC”) rejected Red Bull’s appeal against the European Commission (“EC”) dawn raid decision, in a case triggered by an informal complaint from Red Bull’s competitor, Monster Energy. In summary, the GC found that: The decision was sufficiently reasoned, and in particular contained a clear description of the alleged infringement … Continue reading Bulls vs Monsters: The General Court rejects Red Bull’s appeal against the Commission’s dawn raid decision
This month, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) published guidance on information exchange between pharmaceutical companies in the context of the reimbursement application procedure for combination therapies. This follows a prioritisation statement adopted by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2023 on the same issue and long-standing demands from the Belgian pharmaceutical industry.[1] In … Continue reading Combination Therapies in Pharma – Removing the Antitrust Roadblock
By Dr Beverley Williamson From time to time, the Thicket blog invites guest bloggers to write about a topic that is close to their heart. Geradin Partners is pleased to give the floor to friend of the blog Dr Bev Williamson who is an expert in the application of competition law in the sports industry. … Continue reading Private Equity and Common Ownership in Professional Rugby: Applying the Delivery Hero Standard
Introduction In two significant cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Advocate General Emiliou (the AG) delivered his eagerly awaited opinions in RCC Sports v FIFA (C-209/23) and ROGON v German Football Association (C-428/23) on 15 May 2025. The same day, the AG also published his opinion in the case Tondela … Continue reading FIFA vs Agents: 1-0 at halftime – AG Emiliou Defends FIFA’s Football Agent Regulations
From a competition law perspective, sport is, in some ways, unlike other industries. It may be driven by ideals other than profit, such as sporting merit and fair play. It also only functions through collaboration: associations, leagues and clubs need to agree on fixture dates and kick-off times, amongst other things. But sport also involves … Continue reading The CJEU rules in the Diarra case – FIFA’s transfer rules restrict free movement and competition
When the US hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, it was said to have spent $500 million on the tournament. Fast forward to 2022, Qatar reportedly spent a whopping $220 billion. Sport is now “big business” . . . and being big business means competition law scrutiny. There are three main fields of competition … Continue reading Competition law in sports: it’s time to talk about merger control
Mr Diarra winning the FA Cup with Portsmouth Most professional football transfers happen when a player is free to leave because their contract expires, or when current club, player, and new club come to a mutual transfer agreement. But the world is not perfect. Situations arise where a player does not live up to expectations … Continue reading AG Opinion in FIFA v BZ – Further competition trouble for football rules