State Aid for Professional Football Clubs and Sports Infrastructure

On 4 July 2016, the European Commission concluded its investigation into alleged State aid given to several Dutch and Spanish professional football clubs. The central question that the Commission had to decide in each case was whether the behaviour of the Dutch and Spanish authorities had been in line with the so-called “Market Economy Operator” (MEO) test. This presentation discusses the Commission’s decisions of July 2016 and provides insight into the application of the MEO test and the “Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring of firms in difficulty”.