Calcio professionistico e discriminazioni fondate sulle tendenze sessuali

The paper examines the contents and relevance of the judgment of the Court of Justice in the case ACCEPT/CNCD. The Court has ruled that a football club is responsible for the homophobic remarks made by a person closely associated with the club – even if that person does not have legal power to bind the club as regards its recruitment policy (rather than hiring a footballer presented by the media as being homosexual, it is better to hire a player fromthe junior team). The ruling is important for two reasons: first of all, the judgment represents the first practical application of Directive 2000/78 in a case of discrimination based on sexual orientation; secondly, heretofore gender issues related to the sports world had never been brought to the attention of the Court of Justice.