The Antitrust Authority has fined the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) over €4million euros for abusing its dominant position.
According to the authority, the Federation has leveraged its dominance in organising competitive youth football competitions to exclude Sports Promotion Bodies (Eps) and limit their activities in amateur football.
The Authority, in a statement, revealed that since at least July 1, 2015, the FIGC “implemented a complex exclusionary strategy to strengthen its dominant position in organizing competitive youth football competitions and to extend it to the recreational-amateur activity market, where it competes with Sports Promotion Bodies.”
This abusive strategy was primarily executed by the FIGC’s failure to enter into agreements required by the CONI EPS Regulation (2014) for conducting competitive activities. This tactic effectively prevented EPS from accessing the competitive events organisation market, allowing the Federation to maintain a near-monopoly.
Additionally, the FIGC misused its regulatory power by illegitimately classifying the amateur activities conducted by Sports Promotion Bodies with athletes aged 12 to 17 as competitive. Moreover, the FIGC imposed an agreement between the Federation and the EPS, requiring pre-authorisation for events involving athletes up to 12 years old, who are by definition not part of competitive activities.
This restriction limited the freedom of Amateur Sports Associations affiliated with the FIGC and their athletes with dual membership from participating in EPS-organised tournaments.
As a result, the Authority are imposing a fine of €4,203,447.54.
It seems Italian football woes extend far beyond their early exit from Euro 2024.
