TPO: the Spanish competition authority rules third party ownership of players to be legal

The CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia), the Spanish competition authority made a report to LaLiga, on 02/07/2015, in which it deems the banning of TPO and investment funds in Spanish football to be unconstitutional, said the Spanish Professional Football League on 20/07/2015.

The banning of TPO "infringes upon the freedom of business within the framework of a free-market economy guaranteed and protected by Article 38 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978”. Similarly, “fundamental freedoms enshrined in the EU Single Market, established by the TFUE, are violated, as would be the free movement of capital (article 63), with repercussions also for the freedom of movement of workers (article 45)," said the Spanish competition authority.

The report, commissioned by the CSD, in collaboration with LaLiga, states that the banning of TPO is "detrimental for football, both for the competition as for the clubs and professionals involved. The slightest remuneration and generation of talent would imply lesser competitiveness and quality in the sector, leading to an…