Fair play? Konsekvenserne ved begrænsning af udenlandske spillere og økonomisk handlefrihed, indenfor sport generelt og specifikt i dansk ishockey

Abstract

The object of this thesis was to put focus on the self-regulation system, and how it works, in the field of sport, and specific in Danish ice hockey. There is a long tradition of self-regulation in this field of sport, and the ruling is considered to be in the hands of the national or the international associations. The advantages’ of self-regulation are aligned with the purposes of regulation, which are announced by the Danish government and the European Union. It shall save recourses and create value for the society. The Commission has stated the importance of a better EU-law, and especially that the users of it, should be represented, and should be given influence in the process of the production of the rules. That has not been the case in the field of sport, where the athletes have not got the influence, as pronounced. It is also the fact, that in Denmark, the arbitration courts in the self-regulating system are not qualified for their legal duties. Furthermore, in the whole legal system of sport – up to CAS – there is a risk, that the athletes will not be represented in a fair way. According to the limits of foreign players, that the Danish Ice Hockey Federation (DIU) has implemented, it is clear, that this is not compatible with EU-law, more precisely the principle of free movement of labor. It is also stated that the economic regulations, that the teams in the league are restrained by, are, partly, in conflict with the competition rules of the European Union. The analysis of the consequences of those rules showed, that the foreign players has a big impact on the league, because of their massive representation on the top-lists of top-scorers and for the goalies with the best savings percentage. The implementation of the rules of limiting the foreign players caused a decrease in that number, which also could have been affected by the financial crises. Furthermore there was found no directly connection between the number of foreign players in the league and the number of spectators. To establish the consequences of the regulations on the teams’ economic activity, a measure of the Competitive Balance (CB) was made. It showed a slight improvement in CB, but because of the short timeframe measured, the result should be taken with reservation. The expectations’ to the consequences’ was, that the number of spectators in the league would go down and that the Danish players would get more ice time, because of the new rules. After the first year, the number of spectators had gone down as expected, but the following year it went up to a level over what was realized before the new regulations. If the reason for this was because of some teams´ better results or an increase in CB, was not established. The prediction that the Danish ice hockey players would get more ice time was confirmed as their representation in the top-lists increased immediately after the rules was implemented. The goalies showed the same pattern, but not as clear as for the players