Blog
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FIBA Tribunal Orders Latvian Coach to Pay €12,000 Compensation to Club
A recent decision by the FIBA Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT) has ordered a Latvian basketball coach, R.Š., to pay €12,000 in compensation to a club. The ruling, case number 1894/22, raises several questions about the circumstances surrounding the dispute. Key Points of the Ruling: Analysis: Implications: This case underscores the importance of: This ruling serves…
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CAS case: RFS (Riga football school) vs. Silva
The football law annual report by FIFA highlights a case involving a Latvian club. The solution reached by CAS demonstrates some important considerations for both players and clubs when looking to find a cooperation. Letter of Interest or Binding Contract? Lessons from a Recent FIFA and CAS Dispute case In the world of professional sports,…
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FC Valmiera Faces License Rejection: appeal options per Latvian Law
In a shocking turn of events, FC Valmiera, the 2022 Latvian Higher League champions, have been denied their license for the upcoming 2025 season. The Latvian Football Federation (LFF) cited financial irregularities as the primary reason for the decision, leaving the club’s future hanging in the balance. Football Law vs national Law: edition “Latvia” While…
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Looking back at articles of 2024
Let’s look back at the best sports law publications in traditional media in 2024! Most of the content has been in Latvian language Latvian sports and racism January: on the problem of racism, and whether it is a problem at all; together with co-author Elvis, who suggested taking a closer look at this topic, highlighting…
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Image rights of athletes in Latvia: constitutional law rules
Protecting Your Image: Constitutional Privacy Rights for Celebrities and Athletes The Right to Publicity: A Celebrity’s Shield In today’s digital age, where personal information is readily accessible and shared, celebrities and athletes face unique challenges in protecting their image and likeness. One powerful tool they possess is the right to publicity, a legal right that…
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Young athlete: professional sportsman or consumer? (EUCJ GA opinion in C-365/23)
A contractual term requiring a young sportsman to transfer part of his income if he becomes a professional athlete may potentially be unfair, provided that it is shown that that term creates a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations arising under the contract, according to Advocate General Rantos. High profile basketball player concerned Advocate…
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Riga municipality gives EUR 200’000 to VEF Riga basketball club in 2024 – deservedly?
Rich do as they please – Riga municipality each year assigns significant amounts of public money to different sporting events, large part of that has been given to the Basketball Club VEF Riga, in clear breach of municipality’s own regulations. Key Criteria Riga municipality considers several criteria when assessing the public money, among them: VEF…
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Valmiera FC refused UEFA licence due to tax debts
The Valmiera football club had qualified on sporting merits for the 2024/2025 UEFA Conference league through finishing 4th in the Latvian football Premier League (Virslīga), but has lost the opportunity through unfortunate development of events. The Valmiera’s club has been in financial trouble during 2024 and was refused the licence for justified reasons. In their…
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Ban in the FK Liepāja footballer’s racism case: term reduced
It was announced that Latvian Football Federation disqualified a footballer earlier in 2024 for an ethical misconduct. Apparently, the player had submitted an appeal (or a simple request?) against the 3-month ban, which was satisfied, to reduce the forced idle time to 2 months. The news were reported by LFF, with a significant note in…
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Latvian-Estonian Basketball League season 2024 finish
The Latvian – Estonian basketball league project’s 4th season has ended with the victory of “Prometey”. For the first time in 4 years a game was declared “technical loss” to a team not appearing in a scheduled game, and the Final was played without any Latvian club. Unless you consider Prometey to represent Latvia, since…