We provided assistance to the Estonian Handball Association in a dispute with handball club HC Tallinn. We are pleased that we were able to assist the association in the best possible way and to successfully represent the client in the ensuing disputes.
Within a short period of time, the federation received two complaints and a request for preliminary legal protection, comments our associate Polina Tšernjak. “However, most of the fuss came from the media, which likely sought to garner support. HC Tallinn has now claimed ‘success in arbitration’ regarding the disputes that ended in June. But what really happened? The arbitration confirmed repeated violations by HC Tallinn, concluding that severe disciplinary measures were justified,” she explains.
One complaint was dismissed, while the other was only partially upheld
HC Tallinn appealed the decision of the Estonian Handball Association’s Disciplinary Committee dated 22 April 2024, which removed all HC Tallinn teams from the association’s competitions until the end of the 2023–2024 season and imposed a fine of EUR 200. On 17 June 2024, the arbitration rejected HC Tallinn’s appeal in full and upheld the previous decision.
Additionally, HC Tallinn appealed the decision of the Disciplinary Committee dated 2 April 2024, which imposed automatic losses on the club’s teams in federation matches, fined the club, and removed all HC Tallinn teams from the Estonian Men’s Cup and Championship for the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 seasons. HC Tallinn contested only one of the imposed sanctions, namely the two-year competition ban. The arbitration reduced HC Tallinn’s competition ban by one year. Nonetheless, the other elements of the decision remained in force, as there was no dispute over the fact of the club’s repeated and continuous rule violations. Thus, the earlier decision largely remained in place, and the complaint was only partially upheld.
“Legally, this means that if a club is a repeat offender, the federation has the right (and in some cases the obligation) to take more serious measures against the club, as the club’s actions may hinder the activities and plans of the entire federation, as well as other clubs, sponsors, sports halls, etc.,” says Tšernjak.
The successful contestation of complaints and the application for provisional legal protection was, among other things, aided by knowledge acquired in Switzerland and familiarity with procedural rules in sports cases. Over the summer just past, we achieved positive outcomes for our clients in two significant sports law cases, representing them in doping and disciplinary disputes.
Our client team
Our client team included partner Carri Ginter and associate Polina Tšernjak.
