Colombia fines five football clubs for anticompetitiveness

By Castillo Grau Abogados

The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) imposed a fine exceeding 8,000 million Colombian pesos (roughly USD $2.1 million) on five professional football clubs and on the División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (Dimayor), after determining that they had implemented an anticompetitive system restricting the labor mobility of male football players. 

According to Asuntos Legales, the clubs sanctioned are Deportivo Boyacá Chicó F.C. S.A., Unión Magdalena S.A., Asociación Deportivo Pasto, Envigado F.C. S.A., and Club Deportivo Atlético Fútbol Club S.A. The SIC found that together with Dimayor, these clubs designed a mechanism that violated free-market rules by actively discouraging the hiring of certain players by other clubs. 

The investigation identified three patterns of conduct underlying the system. First, there was exchange of sensitive information among clubs — including details on players’ contract status, disciplinary records, or prior requests for contract termination. 

Second, the clubs invoked a so-called “gentlemen’s pact,” “ethical call,” or “solidarity among guild members” to discourage the hiring of certain players, even when there was no legal impediment. 

Third, Dimayor’s active participation was key: by circulating and endorsing these communications, it contributed to legitimize practices that unlawfully limited free contracting. 
SIC concluded that these practices constituted a disincentive to mobility, negotiation and hiring of players, harming their labor and professional rights. 

Through this sanction, the authority seeks to send a clear message on the importance of preserving free competition in the sports market. According to SIC, ensuring this principle allows players to access better labor conditions, competitive salaries, and real professional opportunities, while also enabling clubs to build more dynamic and competitive teams both on and off the field.