Research and development in private law

Research and development in private law

Sport consumer rights; The Emergence of Catalan Paradigm, More than a Club (Transplant Philosophy of Sports Law to football aesthetics)

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Behnam Noorzadeh
PhD in Private Law, University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/jpl.2025.2056850.1201
Abstract
Considering the unique attractiveness of sports, especially football, consumers in various forms, including fans and spectators either directly (in person) or indirectly (via the media), consume (and purchase) sports products or services. In sport consumer rights, being "More than a Club" (“Més que un club”) by suppliers of Supplier of sports products or goods and services (clubs) and the component of spiritual interest by consumers are considered pivotal indicators. With this attitude, "More than a Club" paradigm can be provided, based on the philosophy and policy of "FC Barcelona" for sport consumers, especially young fans. The practical philosophy of this Paradigm, from the perspective of football aesthetics, is based on four elements: 1- The Club is more than a team of great stars; 2- The Club is more than a stadium with big dreams; 3- The Club is more than the trophies that won, and 4- The Club is more than the goals have scored. It is clear that values such as humility, ambition, effort, teamwork and respect are as much a part of their way of playing as winning. What makes the aforementioned slogan an appropriate paradigm for sport consumer rights, are the elements that extracted from its spirit: 1- Multiplicity of Members; 2- Own Style; 3- Professional Sports; 4- School for Life; 5- Values; 6- name and brand; 7- Social Change; 8- Sports Knowledge and Innovation.
In order to operationalize the aforementioned paradigm, the following components can be stated: 1- Prioritizing sports; 2- democracy and club management; 3- implementation of a business strategy to increase revenue; and 4- Innovative development of corporate social responsibility of sports clubs. Fútbol Club Barcelona (FCB), represents a successful and perfect modern sport entity with legal personality which is plural and burgeoning with meanings. The spirit and thought that behind the aforementioned paradigm in the field of sports products or goods and services, has inspired the author in explaining sports consumer rights, which is effective in the sports law of Iran and for Iranian clubs. The approach of this article in the research is descriptive-analytical method.
Keywords
consumer rights, Sport, Football, Sports products or goods and services, "More than a Club"(Mé
؛ ؛ s que un club) Paradigm
Subjects
1.      Adel, M., Shamsollahi, M. (2016). 'Civil liability for false advertisement', Comparative Law Review, 7(2), pp. 569-599. (in Persian)
2.      Barça digital vision positioning, strategy and and digital projects; FC Barcelona. (2020). Spain. Catalonia.
3.      Belloso, Juan Carlos. (2011). “The City Branding of Barcelona: A Success Story.” In City Branding: Theory and Cases, edited by Keith Dinnie, 118–23. London, Palgrave Macmillan UK.
4.      Burns, Jimmy. (2000). FC Barcelona: A People’s Passion. publisher: Bloomsbury, London.
5.      Buy, Frédéric; Marmayou, Jean-Michel; Poracchia, Didier; Rizzo, Fabrice. (2012). Droit du Sport. Éditeur. Lgdj, 3ème ed. (in french)
6.      Carles i Pujol, Ignasi. (2017). Estudi de l’Espai d’Animació del Futbol Club Barcelona com a proposta de prevenció de la violència en el futbol. España, Universitat de Barcelona. (in Spanish)
7.      Casal, Claudio Alberto; Losada, José Luis, Maneiro, Rubén, & Ardá, Antonio. (2012). Gender differences in technical-tactical behaviour of La Liga Spanish football teams. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 16(1).
8.      Chavoshi Lahrood, E. (2024). 'Trademark Law Approach in Relation with Brand', Research and development in private law, 1(1), pp. 174-199 Doi: 10.22034/jpl.2024.718554. (in Persian)
9.      Cruz Hernández, Cristian. (2012). Historia del Fútbol Club Barcelona “Més que un Club”, TFG en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte. Universidad de Almería. (in Spanish)
10.   De Waegeneer, Els. (2015). “Fair Play in Sports Organizations: Effectiveness of Ethical Codes”. Thesis, Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
11.   Deutscher, Christian; Dimant, Eugen; Humphreys, Brad. (2017). "Match Fixing and Sports Betting in Football. Empirical Evidence from the German Bundesliga, "PPE Working Papers 0008, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
12.   Domingues, Romain. (2014). Les transferts de sportifs. Thèse de doctorat; Aix-Marseille Université. (in french)
13.   Estudio sobre la reputación del F.C. BARCELONA (2012). Spain, Granollers – Barcelona, Reputation Republik. (in Spanish)
14.   Faghir ganji, M., Keshkar, S., honari, H., shahlaei, J. (2021). 'Qualitative pattern of virtual reality application in sports marketing', Sports Marketing Studies, 2(4), pp. 1-34. (in Persian)
15.   Farahani, Abolfazl; Nasirzadeh, Abdul Mahdi & Vatan Doost, Maryam. (2016) Sports Law.  fourth edition. Tehran: Hatmi Publications. (in Persian)
16.   Figueroa Silva, Pedro Alejandro. (2024). FC Barcelona: ¿Más que un club? Análisis de un equipo futboliístico. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. (in Spanish)
17.   Geeraets, Vincent. (2017). Ideology, Doping and the Spirit of Sport. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 12(3).
18.   Ginesta Portet, Xavier, Gómez, Mariela, Serrat, Jordi. (2011). Observatorio Barça 2010. La campaña a la presidencia del FC Barcelona en la prensa deportiva y las redes sociales. Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación, 20. (in Spanish)
19.   Hamil, Sean, Walters, Geoff and Watson, Lee. (2010). 'The model of governance at FC Barcelona: balancing member democracy, commercial strategy, corporate social responsibility and sporting performance'. Soccer & Society, 11: 4.
20.   Haquet, Christophe. (2000). Les exclusivités sportives face au droit du public à l'information: une conciliation parfois difficile, souvent harmonieuse. LEGICOM 2000/3 N° 23. (in french)
21.   Hobsbawm, Eric. (1992). Nations et nationalisme depuis 1780, Paris, NRF, Editions Gallimard. (in french)
22.   Hylton, J. Gordon. (2011). "The Over-Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Sport in the United States and Elsewhere". Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, Vol. 21 No. 1.
23.   Jaume Marí, Javier. (2018). El Barça: més que un club‌?, Universitat de les Illes Balears. Palma, España. (in Spanish)
24.   Katouzian, N., (2008). 'THE LIMITS ON FREEDOM OF CONTRACT BASED ON CONSUMER PROTECTION', Law Quarterly, 38(3), 342-327. (in Persian)
25.   Kunkel, Thilo & Biscaia, Rui. (2020). 'Sport Brands: Brand Relationships and Consumer Behavior'. Sport Marketing Quarterly, West Virginia University, vol. 29, no. 1.
26.   Latty, Franck. (2008). ‘L’Arrêt, Le Livre Blanc et Le Traité: La Lex Sportiva dans l’ordre juridique communautaire développements récents’. Revue du Marché Commun de l’Union Européenne, n°514. (in french)
27.   Latty, Franck. (2014). ‘La gestion internationale du football, un service public international?’ in M. Touzeil-Divina et M. Maisonneuve (dir.). Droit(s) du football, Lextenso. (in french)
28.   Melo Campos, Ivonne Ayda. (2016). Barcelona FC: Estilo de liderazgo y modelo de gestión de equipos, un ejemplo para implementar en las organizaciones. Universidad Militar Nueva Granada. (in Spanish)
29.   Murillo, Carlos. (2012). FC Barcelona. Claves del modelo deportivo y de gestión. Revista de Contabilidad y Dirección, Vol. 14. (in Spanish)
30.   Noorzadeh, B. (2023). 'Jurisdiction of Courts in Football disputes', The Journal of Critical Analysis of Judicial Decisions, 1(2), pp. 608-630. (in Persian)
31.   Noorzadeh, B. (2025). “Leaving paradise of football” from the View of "Lex Sportiva"(Marc Wilmots v. Iran Football Federation), Ra’y Quarterly (The Judiciary Research Institute). (in Persian)
32.   Noorzadeh, B. (2025). 'Harmonizing Self-Regulation in Sports Law Based on Comparative Law: The Birth of Sports Realism', Research and development in private law, 1(2), pp. 299-326. . doi: 10.22034/jpl.2024.2045054.1135 (in Persian)
33.   Noorzadeh, B., Nahreini, F., Izanloo, M., Badini, H., Khabiri, M. (2021). 'Third-party Ownership in Football', Private Law Research, 10(36), pp. 149-180. (in Persian)
34.   Noorzadeh, Behnam. (2012). Study of obligations of the players contracts with clubs. MSc thesis. Tehran: University of Tehran, Faculty of Law and Political Science. (in Persian)
35.   Noorzadeh, Behnam. (2021).  The Restraint of Trade Doctrine in sport with an emphasis on football. doctoral thesis. Tehran: University of Tehran. (in Persian)
36.   Noorzadeh, Behnam. (2023), Introduction to Sport Law:  general theory of contractual restrictions in football. First Edition, Tehran: Sahami Co., Ltd. (in Persian)
37.   Olabe e Sánchez, Fernando. (2014). Entre el 'publicity' y la gestión comunicativa integralel caso del Fútbol Club Barcelona. España, Anduli, Universidad de Sevilla, Revista Andaluza De Ciencias Sociales, nº13 (junio). (in Spanish)
38.   Pawłucki, Andrzej. (2009). Why the Olympic Modernism is more than Sport? Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, Poland, Warsaw, 47(1).
39.   Poli, Raffaele. (2007/1). Transferts de footballeurs: la dérive de la marchandisation Dans. Finance & Bien Commun (No 26). (in french)
40.   Poracchia, Didier. (2006). Abus de biens sociaux et transfert des sportifs. Recueil Dalloz, 04. (in french)
41.   Powers, Colin Wilson. (2012). "Marketing Pastimes: Comparing the Brand Strengths of Real Madrid & The New York Yankees". Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects, 157.
42.   Provost, Denis. (2000/3). À qui appartiennent les “droits internet” du sport?. Légicom, no 23. (in french)
43.   Ranjan, Weerakoon; Ranasinghe, Dasun. (2015). A Case Study of Analyzing Internal and External Environment in Barcelona Football Club. International Journal of Emerging Research in Management &Technology, Volume-4, Issue-12.
44.   Rodrigues, Bruno Filipe Barata. (2019). Virtual Reality Football Videogame A Social Experience. Thesis, Técnico Lisboa, Portugal.
45.   Ross, Stephen. (1999). Anti-competitive aspects of sports. Competition & Consumer Law Journal, Australia, Vol. 7, No. 2.
46.   Sadeghi, M., Aghajani, Z. (2012). 'THE ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT TO REPLACEMENT AND RIGHT TO RETRACTION OF DETECTIVE GOODS AND THEIR POSITION IN IRANIAN LAW', Law Quarterly, 42(1), pp. 181-199. (in Persian)
47.   sadeghi, M., and hadi, A. "Legal Study of Effects of Legislation on E-Marketing: with Emphasis on Finished Cost Reduction", Iranian Journal of Trade Studies, 19, 75, 2015, 39-64. (in Persian)
48.   Serapiglia, Daniele. (2016). Il Barça, més que un club: le radici del catalanismo blaugrana nel contesto della sportivizzazione spagnola. Spagna contemporanea-n.50, a. XXV. (in Spanish)
49.   Shams Koloukhi, A., Mehrazeen, A.R., Massihabadee, A. and Shorvarzi, M.R., 2020. Innovation and Creativity in Determining and Prioritizing Corporate Disclosure Indicators. Journal of Innovation and Creativity in Human Science, 9(4), pp.135-160. (in Persian)
50.   Shobe, Hunter. (2006). Place, Sport and Globalization: Making Sense of la marca Barça. Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Geografia (Journal of the Catalan Geographical Society). Vol. 61-62.
51.   Shobe, Hunter. (2008). "Football and the politics of place: Football Club Barcelona and Catalonia, 1975-2005". Journal of Cultural Geography, Publisher: Informa UK Limited, № 1.
52.   Silva, Marcos de Araújo. (2018). Més que um club? El FC Barcelona, la postcolonialidad y las heterotopías del futbol en el mundo globalizado. In W. Soto Acosta (Ed.), Política Global y Fútbol: El Deporte como Preocupación de las Ciencias Sociales. (in Spanish)
53.   Silva, Nuno Sérgio Vinhas da. (2017). Consumer brand relationships: the determinants of brand loyalty in the context of football clubs. Tese de doutoramento, Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa.
54.   Sobrequés, Jaume. (2010). L´Estatut de la Transició, Barcelona, Base. (in Spanish)
55.   Stadium revenues and Ticketing Strategies FC Barcelona case + Benchmarking. (2021). 4NFC, TOTAL FOOTBALL BUSINESS.
56.   Szabó, Robert Győri. (2012). El Barça y la identidad catalana, journal Acta Hispánica. (in Spanish)
57.   Théron, Julien. (2013). Pour une ovalisation des principes de la responsabilité civile, in Droit et rugby. Actes du colloque de Clermont-Ferrand du 20 avril 2012, LGDJ. (in french)
58.   UEFA. (2018). UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, Edition 2018.
59.   Vázquez Montalbán, Manuel. (2005). Fútbol. Una religión en busca de un Dios, Barcelona, Debate. (in Spanish)
60.   Velicia Martín, Félix, Toledo, Luis Dona, Palos-Sanchez, Pedro. (2020). "How deep is your love? Brand love analysis applied to football teams". International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 21, No. 4.
61.   Villarroya, Anna; Casals-Balaguer, Marta. (2022). Culture and gender perspectives in the city of Barcelona Debats. Journal on Culture, Power and Society, 7.
62.   Webb, Andrew; Cloutier, Amélie; Brouard, François. (2023). Innovations in global sports brands management: the case of FC Barcelona’s Barça Museum. Journal Managing Sport and Leisure. United Kingdom.
63.   Whigham, Stuart; Lopez-Gonzalez, Hibai; Ramon, Xavier. (2019). “Més Que Un Joc?”: Sport and Contemporary Political Nationalism in Scotland and Catalonia. Journal of Sport and Social Issues.