The Polish Competition Authority fines 16 basketball clubs and the national league for exchanging commercially sensitive information and colluding to terminate player contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic (BM Slam Stal / Gdyński Klub / Gliwickie /...)

In December 2022, the Polish Competition Authority (Polish: Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów (“UOKiK”)) (the “PCA”) published the non-confidential version of its decision imposing fines on 16 basketball clubs (the “Clubs”) and the national basketball league (the “League”) for alleged wage-fixing arrangements in the context of the earlier termination of the 2019/2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic (the “Decision”). This is the first decision where the PCA applied Art. 101(1) TFEU and the national equivalent (Art. 6(1) of the Competition Act) [1] to the labour market. Background The infringement declared in the Decision originated from the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. The pandemic and resulting restrictions forced suspension of sporting activities and earlier