91997E3937

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3937/97 by Gordon Adam (PSE) to the Commission (12 December 1997)

Subject: Player transfer restrictions imposed by the British Ice Hockey Association Ltd (BIHA) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)

The British Ice Hockey Association Ltd, as the governing body of the sport of ice hockey for the United Kingdom, under the authority of the international Ice Hockey Federation of which it is a member, imposes a range of fees for the registration of players from Ice Hockey Associations other than those from the United Kingdom in addition to the fees which are charged for the registration of United Kingdom players.

The fee for players from other European Union countries is increased depending upon the country with which they have first registered.

The BIHA also asks for an International Transfer Card (ITC) fee which varies depending on the charge levied by the country of origin of the player.

Are the fees imposed compatible with the Treaty of Rome, since they restrict young people from other European Union countries from playing recreational and professional ice hockey in the United Kingdom?

Does the Bosman case have implications for sports other than football, and in particular for ice hockey?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-3937/97 and E-3950/97 given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (30 January 1998)

Following the information provided to the Commission by the Honourable Member, the Commission considers that special fees imposed on ice hockey players who are not members of the United Kingdom ice hockey association when they are recruited by a British club amount to a discrimination contrary to the EC Treaty.

Where such ice hockey players wish to practise ice hockey as a professional activity, the transfer fee and the registration fee would constitute obstacles to free movement of workers and would directly contravene Article 48 of the EC Treaty, in line with the Bosman ruling. Furthermore, when hockey is played as a non-professional activity, either by a family member of a European worker or by a European citizen residing in the United Kingdom, the fee for non-British players may also constitute a discrimination against European citizens and may contravene the EC Treaty.

Finally, the Commission wishes to confirm that the Bosman ruling does not only concern professional football, but also any professional or semi-professional sports activity.