After the European Constitution, which contains an article on sport, was shelved for 'a period of reflection', the UK Presidency initiated a review on European sports to tackle the specific issues sport, and especially football currently face. The Independent European Football Review, drafted with support from legal, economic and political experts and stakeholders, the EU Sports Ministers, UEFA and FIFA, was published on 23 May 2006.
The report points to the series of recent match-fixing, corruption and betting scandals in several European countries and says that "the consistent series of legal challenges to fundamental sports rules has weakened confidence in the system and created a climate of instability". The chief of the review, José Luis Arnaut finds that "sports in general and football in particular are not in good health. Only the direct involvement of political leaders, working together with the football authorities, can put it back on the road to recovery."
The report recommends the Commission to provide clear guidance on the type of ‘sport rules’ compatible with Community law, and proposes to UEFA to introduce, for example, some form of salary cost control mechanism to achieve competitive balance in European football. Furthermore, proposals for stricter rules on multiple ownership of clubs and measures to limit the number of foreign players are put forward.
The review also sees the need for a formal EU-UEFA structure, with UEFA being granted official recognition as the governing body for European football and recommends the EU to set up a 'European Sports Agency' to oversee all sports institutions and bodies within the EU-25.
