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Selection criteria for international meets do not violate EU law |
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April 12, 2000 LUXEMBOURG, APR 11 (UNB/AP) - The European Court of justice said Tuesday that selection criteria for world championships and Olympics do not violate European Union law and ruled against a judoka who claimed non-selection for international competitions had unjustly damaged her career.
"The national federations, which reflect the arrangements adopted in most sporting disciplines, are therefore entitled to lay down appropriate rules and to make selections," the EU's highest court said in a statement.
If the court would have backed Belgian Christelle Deliege, it would have had major repercussions for athletes, sporting federations and event organizers since the current selection system would have been deemed illegal in the 15-nation EU.
The power of the European Court of Justice was proven in 1995, when it backed Jean-Marc Bosman in his complaint against the soccer authorities, and the Bosman ruling changed rules on foreigner limits and free agency in the world's richest leagues.
Deliege however will have no such impact. The judoka had claimed that the Belgian federations had stifled her career by not selecting her, and argued that since she was taking part in an economic activity, her rights had been impeded.
Deliege, a junior judo world champion, missed out on the Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games when the national judo federation chose someone else from the vast Belgian pool of judo talent. Her lawyer argued the selection was based on subjective criteria.
The court said however that "such a limitation is inherent in the conduct of an international high-level sports event, which necessarily involves certain selection rules or criteria being adopted."
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