NK Arbitration - Dennis Koolaard

mr. D.M. (Dennis) Koolaard

Dennis Koolaard

Attorney-at-Law

Lausanne, Switzerland, is home to the highest legal body for international sports disputes. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) settles disputes in cases relating to the Olympic Games, all types of contractual disputes, anti-doping, governance, ethics, employment-related disputes, financial fair play, match-fixing and all sorts of disciplinary proceedings.

Dennis works as a clerk (legal secretary) for CAS and that takes up a significant part of his practice. In this capacity, he has been involved in more than 200 arbitrations, including some of the most high-profile international sports disputes:

CAS 2024/A/10310 FC Barcelona v. UEFA;
CAS 2021/A/8543 Paris Saint-Germain v. FC Barcelona;
CAS 2020/A/6785 Manchester City FC v. UEFA;
CAS 2019/A/6594 Cardiff City FC v. FC Nantes;
CAS 2016/A/4501 Joseph S. Blatter v. FIFA;
CAS 2011/A/2384 & 2386 UCI & WADA v. Alberto Contador Velasco & RFEC.

Internationally, he is seen as a highly skilled lawyer. He has been ranked by Lexologoy (formerly Who's Who Legal) among the 50 most highly regarded authorities worldwide (Global Elite Thought Leader) in the field of international sports law since 2016 based on feedback from clients and peers, with, inter alia, the following comments:
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“Dennis Koolaard is ‘a highly skilled sports lawyer’ with ‘brilliant knowledge, skills and experience’ of the industry.” (2021)
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“Dennis Koolaard garners praise as ‘a truly excellent sports lawyer’ who is deeply experienced in CAS arbitration.” (2022)
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In addition to his activities for CAS, Dennis also regularly advises and represents clients as a lawyer in the field of sports law, as well as in the field of international commercial arbitration. For example, he was involved in the following procedures:‍‍

Advising a football player of the Dutch national team against a Dutch football club with regard to an additional levy on a termination fee.
Lawyer of a foreign company against a Dutch company in an ICC arbitration concerning a contractual dispute following a delay in the construction of an oil refinery.
Lawyer of a well-known cyclist in disciplinary proceedings before the international cycling association UCI.
Lawyer in multiple proceedings before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber and FIFA Players’ Status Committee.
Advising a foreign investor regarding the potential acquisition of a Dutch football club.
Advising a foreign Champions League winner regarding the extension of his contract with a major clothing brand.
Advising a football player of the Dutch national team when terminating his representation agreement with a players’ agent.
Advising a Danish international regarding a claim for unpaid salary from a Greek football club.
Advising a players’ agent regarding the recovery of outstanding funds from a Turkish football club.

Dennis also regularly sits as an arbitrator/disciplinary judge.
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At international level, he is the Disciplinary Judge of Euroleague Basketball, where he rules as a single judge on a broad range of disciplinary proceedings under the remit of the Euroleague Basketball Disciplinary Code. He is also a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal of World Athletics, where he rules on anti-doping and safeguarding cases.

At domestic level, Dennis is the Chairman of the Appeal Committee (Anti-Doping Chamber) of the Institute of Sports Judicial Administration (Instituut Sportrechtspraak – ISR) and the KNVB Pool Committee that decides on disputes between professional football clubs concerning training compensation.

Finally, Dennis regularly publishes on international sports law and lectures on sports law at various national and foreign universities, including the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), the UEFA Football Law Programme, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Tilburg University, the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and SSBM Geneva.