'EU set to rule in favour of speed skaters over ISU ban threat'

The European Commission's move could impact other sports and become as important a milestone as the landmark 1995 court ruling involving Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman, which paved the way for the free movement of players in the EU.

The ruling could set a precedent that would make it easier for unofficial and 'breakaway' events and competitions set up without the approval of a sports' governing body.

The Commission ruling, which is expected by the end of November or early December, is likely to order the International Skating Union (ISU) to amend its system of penalties, which include lifetime bans for competing in unauthorised events, the sources told Reuters.

The ISU found itself in the EU competition enforcer's crosshairs two years ago after Dutch Olympic speed skaters Mark Tuitert and Niels Kerstholt raised grievances after being put off competing in lucrative Ice Derby events run by a South Korean company by threats of a lifetime ban.

"The eligibility rules reveal a manifest conflict of interest between the ISU's regulatory and commercial functions," said Ben Van Rompuy, the lawyer for the skaters and a lecturer in competition law at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

"We are eagerly awaiting the Commission's decision and we are confident that it will set an important precedent to the benefit of European athletes in numerous sports," he said.

Both the EU's competition enforcer and the Lausanne-based ISU, which previously said such an approach could destroy the Olympic values underpinning sport, declined to comment on the matter.

In its 2016 charge sheet, the Commission said the ISU's penalties, which range from five-year to lifetime bans, were anti-competitive because they were disproportionately punitive, restricted the athletes' commercial freedom and prevented new entrant organisers.

In an indication of the wider potential impact of the ruling, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach called in June for the protection of what he called the 'European sports model'.

"Our concern stems from the fact that a purely market-based approach to sport organisations would ignore the social contribution of sport to help achieve objectives of common interest," said Bach who argued that federations were investing in youth activities.

Bach called on the Commission to "safeguard the volunteer engagement and to protect the European Model of Sport, rather than destroying it by applying the same rules as it does for industries, like car manufacturing or steel production".