DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Frederik Bruhn, Rasmus Theis Madsen, Robert Jønsson and Tim Krarup Nielsen, HortenDahl Law Firm
tection and general disciplinary matters. CAS serves as the ultimate arbitral tribunal for sports-related dis - putes. As a general rule, disciplinary and financial sanctions imposed by these bodies are final within the sports arbitration system and may not be appealed to the ordinary courts. Compliance With EU Trends in Sports Regulation Denmark closely follows the legal trends established by the CJEU, particularly regarding competition law and the balance between sporting autonomy and legal oversight. While self-regulation remains the default approach, cases such as competition law challenges illustrate that Danish sports organisations must also comply with EU legal frameworks. Notably, key provisions of FIFA’s Football Agent Regu - lations (FFAR) have been suspended worldwide by FIFA as it awaits the CJEU’s ruling on their compatibil - ity with EU competition law. In Denmark, DBU imple - mented FFAR through Circular No 125, whereby FFAR and the principles were implemented to also apply for national transactions in Denmark. However, in line with the recommendations from FIFA, DBU has announced a temporary suspension of the most significant parts of the circular concerning football agents. 7. Employment Contracts and Rights 7.1 Sports-Related Employment Contracts Employment Structure in Danish Football Employment relationships between sports organisa - tions and players are regulated by standardised con - tracts and collective agreements in Denmark. In Danish football, player contracts must be entered into on the basis of the DBU standard player con - tract. The standard contract is determined in the col - lective agreement between the Danish League and the Players Association, currently the “Football Col - lective Agreement 2025 – 2030”. Deviations from the standard contract are only permitted where expressly allowed. While supplementary terms may be agreed, such terms must comply with the collective agree - ment and regulations.
Danish football does not operate with salary caps. Instead, wage structures are determined through indi - vidual negotiations between clubs and players, sub - ject to the minimum salary requirements determined according to whether the player is employed on a full- time or part-time basis. The Danish Salaried Employees Act in general applies to employees having administrative jobs and respon - sibilities. It provides protection for employees in many aspects, such as mandatory minimum termination periods, protection against unfounded dismissals, etc. This act is not suitable for the employment of football players, as the nature of the work performed does not fall within the scope of application. Anyhow, it is set out in the current Collective Agreement between the Danish League and the Players’ Association (2025– 2030) that the act applies, except for the normal rules on termination as players may only be employed on non-terminable, fixed-term contracts. 7.2 Employer/Employee Rights Employment Regulation for Players Football players’ employment is governed by the DBU standard player contract and the Collective Agree - ment, and there is not much room for interpretation hereof. Employees in the business of sports are also protect - ed by other mandatory legislation, such as the Danish Holiday Act, which among other factors means that clubs must pay holiday allowances and pension con - tributions on performance-related bonuses. Employment Regulation for Coaches The Collective Agreement between the Danish League and the Players’ Association does not cover football coaches. However, coaches in football are often employed on fixed-term contracts, similar to players, which cannot be terminated for convenience by either party. Sports coaches in Denmark are generally consid - ered salaried employees under the Danish Salaried Employees Act, at least if they are head coaches entrusted with de facto management powers. This
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