Kolpak ruling

The Kolpak ruling is a European Court of Justice ruling handed down on 8 May 2003 in favour of Maroš Kolpak, a Slovak handball player. It held that certain nationals of countries with Association Agreements containing non-discrimination provisions (such as the EU–Slovakia Europe Agreement) could not be discriminated against in employment once they were lawfully employed in an EU member state. It did not grant them the same general freedom of movement as EU citizens. Thus nationality-based quotas applied to lawfully employed players covered by the relevant Association Agreements were found to be incompatible with EU law. The judgment in Germany had significant implications for professional sports in Europe, which have had a wide-ranging effect, especially in regard to English county cricket and European professional rugby.

Kolpak player, or Kolpak, was a term used in the United Kingdom for people from overseas playing in the domestic leagues in cricket and both rugby codes, who were subject to the Kolpak ruling. However, the system no longer applies in the UK, following its exit from the European Union, which came into effect in 2020.

Court ruling

The Court of Justice's Bosman ruling in 1995 declared that, in accordance with the EC Treaty rules regarding freedom of movement for workers, no citizen of the European Union should be restricted from working in another part of the EU on the grounds of their nationality. For example, a German football team could not be prevented from signing a Greek player, because both nations are members of the EU.

Maroš Kolpak was a Slovak handball player, who was legally resident and working in Germany, and had been playing for the German second division handball side TSV Östringen since 1997. The German Handball Association had a rule (Rule 15) which prohibited its member clubs from fielding more than two non-EU citizens.