Early on, our founder, Dr Dirk-Reiner Martens, established himself as a counsel in some of the most spectacular disputes in sport – for example, in the damages litigation involving Katrin Krabbe, the “international court marathon” in the Stanley Roberts doping case, or in representing Adidas AG in arbitration proceedings against the German Football Association (DFB) for the exclusive equipment of the German national team. He was also one of the first, most respected and, with well over 200 cases, also the most active arbitrators of the CAS.
Our law firm has retained this specialisation in dispute resolution in sport, on top of its recognized expertise in commercial dispute resolution. Therefore, litigation and arbitration in sports law are particularly close to our hearts because they allow us to combine our core fields of expertise like hardly any other law firm.
We regularly represent well-known clients in sport in complex and often pioneering proceedings before German courts. Furthermore, we are very active as counsel before the CAS and before internal dispute resolution bodies of sports associations. The disputes we handle cover the entire spectrum of sports law. This includes, for example, procedures in disciplinary cases (incl. doping and match fixing), in disputes under the law of associations, or on questions of eligibility/nominations as well as multiple ownership. We also have a lot of experience with purely financial disputes in sport, in particular regarding contractual or tort claims for damages, transfer fees, training allowances, or solidarity payments in accordance with FIFA regulations.
In addition, lawyers from our team regularly act as arbitrators in sports proceedings, for example at the German Court of Arbitration for Sport or the Permanent Court of Arbitration of the German Ice Hockey Federation.
Finally, the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT) is a milestone in the field of dispute resolution in sport. The BAT is an international court of arbitration for the settlement of disputes between clubs, basketball players, and player agents in professional basketball. This arbitration tribunal was developed by Martens in 2007 and has been administered by us with great success ever since.
Notable cases
- Legal representation of the International Skating Union (ISU) in the “Pechstein case”
- Legal representation of the World Bridge Federation (WBF) in the “cough scandal”
- Representation of Türkgücü Munich against the Bavarian Football Association before German courts as well as the BFV Association Court and BFV Arbitration Court
- Legal representation of the German National Basketball League (NBBL) in a dispute regarding its rules for foreigners
- Representation of Atletico de Madrid before the CAS regarding transfer sanctions
- Representation of Fenerbahce Istanbul before CAS, FIFA and UEFA in various matters, including match-fixing allegations
- Representation of Panathinaikos Athens before CAS in various matters, including claims for damages
- Representation of PAOK FC before the CAS in a labour law dispute
- Representation of a Bundesliga football club before the CAS regarding the FIFA solidarity mechanism
- Representation of a Bundesliga football club before the CAS regarding player registration
- Representation of five-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo before CAS as intervener regarding a disciplinary sanction against Valentino Rossi
- Representation of a multinational group before the CAS regarding a post-M&A dispute
- Representation of several international and national sports federations in anti-doping proceedings before the CAS
- Representation of athletes in disciplinary cases, in particular in the field of anti-doping, before the CAS, the German Court of Arbitration for Sport and association courts
