SETTLING DISPUTES UNDER SPORTS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS IN ITALY
Sports employment disputes in Italy are governed by a distinctive interaction between State law and the rules of the sports system.
This is particularly relevant in professional football, where employment relationships between clubs and players, as well as those involving coaches and other sports professionals, are governed not only by Italian employment legislation but also by collective bargaining agreements and the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) regulations.
The principal statutory framework is now provided by Legislative Decree No. 36/2021, which reorganised sports employment following the repeal of Law No. 91/1981. The Decree applies to both professional and amateur sports, although with significant differences between the two sectors.
Arbitration plays an important role in professional sport, particularly where collective bargaining agreements provide for specialised dispute-resolution mechanisms.
Article 26 of Legislative Decree No. 36/2021 permits a sports employment agreement to contain an arbitration clause (clausola compromissoria) providing for disputes concerning the performance of the employment relationship to be referred to an arbitral panel. The existence and scope of such arbitration depend, therefore, on the applicable legislation, the individual agreement, collective bargaining arrangements and the regulations of the relevant federation.
This distinction is important: Italian law does not establish a single mandatory arbitration system applicable indiscriminately to every sports employment relationship. Rather, professional sports have developed sector-specific mechanisms, often through collective bargaining agreements.
In football, these mechanisms are particularly significant, because collective bargaining agreements establish specialised procedures for disputes between clubs and registered players, whilst separate arrangements may apply to coaches and other professionals.
Professional football provides the clearest example of the interaction between employment law and sports regulation.
Employment relationships involving professional football players are governed by the applicable collective bargaining framework agreed between the relevant football organisations and players‘ representatives, together with FIGC regulations and the individual employment agreement.
Where a dispute falls within the scope of an applicable arbitration clause or collective bargaining procedure, the parties may be required to refer the dispute to the competent Collegio Arbitrale, rather than commencing ordinary court proceedings.
The same principle applies to coaches, but the relevant collective framework must be examined separately. It would be incorrect, therefore, to assume that the dispute-resolution provisions applicable to professional players automatically apply to coaches, sports directors or other club personnel.
This is particularly important, in practice, where disputes concern salary arrears, termination of the employment relationship, contractual obligations, bonuses, compensation or other matters arising from the employment agreement.
The 2025/2026 sports season confirms the importance of collective bargaining in determining the applicable dispute-resolution mechanism.
The relevant FIGC framework contains separate collective arrangements for different categories of sports professionals. For example, FIGC regulations expressly refer to collective agreements applicable to professional football players and to technicians, whilst the LND (National Amateur League)-AIC(Italian Footballers’ Association) collective agreement applicable to the amateur sector for the 2025/2026 season contains its own contractual and arbitration framework.
Accordingly, when advising a player, coach or club, the first step should not simply be to ask whether the dispute is a „sports dispute”.
This contractual and regulatory analysis is essential because failure to commence proceedings before the correct body, or within the applicable deadline, may affect the availability of a remedy.
Sports arbitration should not be confused with the sports justice system.
Sports Federations, such as FIGC, have disciplinary and adjudicatory bodies competent to deal with matters falling within the sporting order, including disciplinary and technical disputes. These proceedings are governed by the applicable sports rules and are distinct from contractual arbitration concerning an employment relationship.
At the national level, the Collegio di Garanzia dello Sport of CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) acts as the final body of the sports justice system, within the limits established by the applicable rules. Its role is principally one of legal review rather than a general rehearing of the facts.
The CONI framework may also provide for specific dispute-resolution mechanisms in particular areas of sports regulation. Such mechanisms should, however, be distinguished from the general functions of the Collegio di Garanzia dello Sport and from contractual arbitration arising from sports employment relationships. This is particularly relevant to certain disputes concerning sports agents, for which the applicable regulations provide specialised dispute-resolution mechanisms.
The coexistence of State jurisdiction and sports justice is principally governed by Law No. 280/2003.
The Italian legal system recognises the autonomy of the sporting order, but this autonomy does not exclude State judicial protection. Depending upon the nature of the dispute and the legal position involved, jurisdiction may belong to the ordinary courts or to the administrative courts.
The so-called pregiudiziale sportiva, that is, the legal requirement to pursue available sports remedies before accessing administrative judicial protection, applies in the circumstances established by law and should not be understood as an absolute rule covering every sports dispute.
Certain decisions affecting participation in competitions, for example, may fall within the jurisdiction of the administrative courts. In the cases specifically allocated to administrative jurisdiction, the TAR (Administrative Court) Lazio has competence at first instance.
The distinction between contractual employment disputes and disputes concerning the exercise of sporting or regulatory powers is, therefore, fundamental.
At the international level, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seated in Lausanne, has a different role from Italian sports arbitration.
CAS does not have general jurisdiction over Italian sports employment disputes. Its jurisdiction must derive from an arbitration agreement, the statutes or regulations of the relevant international federation or sports organisation, or another applicable legal basis.
CAS operates through different procedures. Its Ordinary Arbitration Division deals with disputes submitted to CAS on the basis of an arbitration agreement, whilst its Appeals Arbitration Division hears appeals against decisions of federations, associations or other sports bodies where the applicable statutes or regulations provide for CAS jurisdiction. Internal remedies of the relevant international federation or sports organisation, generally, must first have been exhausted; see the recent CAS Award in CAS 2025/A/11664/Kyriakos Stratouras v. World Taekwondo.
This distinction is particularly relevant in football. A contractual dispute between an Italian player and an Italian club will not automatically be brought before CAS, merely because it concerns professional football. By contrast, disputes involving international sporting bodies or decisions falling within FIFA or UEFA regulations may, where the applicable rules provide, ultimately reach CAS.
CAS proceedings are conducted under the CAS Code of Sports-related Arbitration and the applicable framework of Swiss arbitration law. CAS awards are subject to limited judicial review by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (TFS), as provided by Swiss arbitration laws.
We act in disputes arising under sports employment agreements in Italy, especially those relating to football, through our Milan office, and also, where appropriate, in appeals to CAS and from there to TFS, and further information is available from the Head of our Italian Law Practice, Avv. Sara Botti, by emailing her at botti@valloni.ch.