UPDATED: FIFA has punished FC Barcelona for trading children. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The trade of minors is standard practice in European football – and has been for years. Now, for the first time since the sanctions against the Spanish club were issued, FIFA responds to enquiries regarding the case.

Major European clubs and anonymous investment funds are fighting across cities, countries and continents over football’s new gold – talented minors.

In September last year, a Singaporean court ordered journalist and blogger James M. Dorsey to reveal his sources for a report he did on an audit of the connection between Mohammed bin Hammam and World Sports Group (WSG). Dorsey appealed the order to the Singaporean Court of Appeal, who had it overturned.

Canadian journalist Laura Robinson is currently engaged in a tough legal battle with the prominent Canadian sports executive John Furlong, who she claims is covering up a shady past that includes cases of abuse of First Nations children. Robinson spoke at Play the Game 2013 despite warnings from Furlong’s attorneys.

Play the Game’s international director Jens Sejer Andersen has called on politicians and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take a greater role in funding investigations into sports governance and ensure the safety of whistle-blowers.

While the financial cost of hosting a sporting mega-event runs into billions of dollars, a legal price must also be paid. This, Play the Game was told, includes the creation of special tax loopholes, the curtailment of consumer rights and the relaxation of immigration rules.

Switzerland, home of more than 30 international sports organisations, is looking to introduce a law that will make corruption and bribery in private companies and organisations a penalty.

This paper by Arnout Geeraert seeks to provide a concise overview of the application of EU law on sporting rules as it delineates the boundaries of the autonomy of sport with regard to EU law. It also provides an overview of the different methods of enforcement of EU law on sports bodies and the legal and political limitations thereof.