All World Cup football fixtures can be broadcast on 'free-to-air' TV in the UK, rules CJEU

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), though, rejected complaints by the governing bodies for world and European football, FIFA and UEFA, that the restriction on their rights to sell broadcasting rights for all the matches at the tournaments to pay-TV providers in the UK was unjust. FIFA and UEFA had argued that only matches involving the national teams from within the UK, and other "gala" fixtures – the final and semi finals, could be justified as being reserved for 'free-to-air' broadcasting.

The Government will have to notify the European Commission of reasons justifying why all matches played during the tournament stages of the World Cup or European Championship constitute "an event of major importance for society" in the UK, the CJEU said.

"Given that the final stage of the World Cup cannot validly be included in its entirety in a list of events of major importance irrespective of the interest generated by the individual matches in the Member State concerned, that State is not freed from its obligation to communicate to the Commission the reasons justifying the designation, in the specific context of the society of the Member State concerned, of the final stage of the World Cup as a unique event which must be regarded in its entirety as being of major importance for that society, rather than a compilation of individual events divided into matches of different levels of interest," the Court said in one of three judgments it issued in related cases about application of EU television broadcasting laws. Under EU television broadcasting laws, member states can elect to prevent broadcasters from showing "on an exclusive basis" any events that they consider to be "of major importance for society in such a way as to deprive a substantial proportion of the public in that Member State of the possibility of following such events via live coverage or deferred coverage on free television".

If a member state chooses to place such restrictions on broadcasters it must form a list of the "designated events ... which it considers to be of major importance for society ... in a clear and transparent manner in due and effective time ... [and] also determine whether these events should be available via whole or partial live coverage, or where necessary or appropriate for objective reasons in the public interest, whole or partial deferred coverage".

Member states are required to notify the European Commission about the restrictions it wishes to impose, whilst the Commission is charged with verifying that the measures taken are compliant with EU law.

FIFA and UEFA argued that the UK, and Belgium, should not be able to prevent all the matches in the World Cup and European Championships from being sold to broadcasters on an exclusive basis. In the UK 'crown jewel' events including the Open Golf Championship, the Rugby World Cup and the two major international football tournaments must be made available on free-to-air channels.

FIFA and UEFA said that the Commission was wrong to verify lists that covered all the games played at the tournaments because some games could not be considered to be important enough to society to restrict the way the matches are broadcast. They argued that the restrictions amounted to an infringement of their right to exploit their intellectual property rights under the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

However, FIFA and UEFA's challenge was dismissed in its entirety by the CJEU in three separate judgments issued by the Court.

The UK is free to draw up its own list of 'designated events' for broadcast on free-to-air TV even though the EU laws that provide such a right also present "obstacles to the freedom to provide services, the freedom of establishment, the freedom of competition and the right to property", which are otherwise rights set out under the EU Charter, the CJEU said, so long as its selection of events is justifiable.