Italian runner fights to compete for Germany

Daniele Biffi (pictured above, left) runs fast. The 46-year-old is one of the best indoor track athletes in the senior class, not just in Germany but internationally. He has sprinted his way to the German national title eight times and would love to claim another gold medal. But he can't. Since 2016 he has been barred from competing - because he is, in fact, Italian.

Germany's governing body for athletics, the Deutscher Leichtathletik Verband (DLV - German Athletics Association), changed its rules two years ago to prevent non-German citizens from claiming national titles. As an EU citizen, Biffi felt discriminated against. He has lived in Berlin for the past 16 years and has been registered as an athlete in Germany since 2012. For four years he competed at national and international championships without any issues. 

So he took his case to the district court in Darmstadt, where the DLV is headquatered, to have the changes overturned and allow him to compete for medals once again. Judges there have asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to give its opinion on whether the case represents discrimination under the relevant European law before it makes its own decision. 

Initial opinion a great start for Biffi

Biffi's chances of winning have received a boost. On Thursday the ECJ published the opinion of Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev. He found the DLV's new rules contradict EU anti-discrimination laws. In his assessment he wrote that a sporting association in an EU member state "impermissibly discriminates against amateur athletes who do not have the nationality of the Member State" if they exlude those athletes from competing in, or being classified in, national championships. 

The ECJ will make its final decision on the case in the coming months before passing it back to the court in Darmstadt. Judges do not have to follow the opinion of Advocate General, but often do. 

Biffi attempting to blaze a trail

"I'm pleased this opinion is on my side," Biffi told DW. "It's not only good for me, but for all the other athletes affected in Germany. It's especially good for children and young adults who live in Germany, go to school, train, have fun and despite having the level to go to the German championships have to stay at home because the for the DLV they are not proper 'German' athletes." 

By his reckoning, an estimated further 50 senior athletes in Germany could be affected, along with those in other age categories.

DLV wants to promote German athletes

In a document identifying the rule changes, the DLV gave several reasons, including not disadvantaging German citizens, and that it is sometimes difficult to obtain the correct date of birth for foreign athletes or to know if athletes are also competing in their own countries.

Read more: Caster Semenya vs. the IAAF: How much testostorone is too much?

When he first found out, the news came as a shock to Biffi. "When I understood I really would not be able to run in German championships I was absolutely furious," he said. "Athletics is not just a part of my job as a personal trainer, it also really is my passion.

 "I train exactly for such competitions. It's fun. It's a huge part of my life. For them to say, 'you can't come,' I could hardly accept it," he added.  

"The real scandal is the discrimination"

His lawyer Gerald Kornisch, who is a member of the same athletics association, also saw problems in the DLV's position. In an interview with DW, he argued the DLV, as an umbrella organization, should not be allowed to treat individual members differently based on their nationality.

 "The real scandal is the discrimination," he said. "It's really about whether the DLV leadership is allowed to give or take away the rights and privileges of sports associations or individual members on a whim, however they like."

The DLV denies their decision has anything to do with discrimination. 

"Wide-ranging consequences" - if Biffi is successful

If Biffi is ultimately successful, the case could have a significant repercussions on amateur athletics in the EU. Professor Dr. Martin Nolte, the head of the Institute for Sport Law at the German Sport University in Cologne, told DW it could open the doors for athletes to easily compete wherever they wish.

"That would have wide-ranging consequences for sporting association guidelines that permit limits on who is allowed to compete," he said. "It could have the curious consequence, if you were to allow it, that one person could become a 10-time national champion in 10 different countries."

However, Nolte said it was far from certain that the ECJ would find the DLV's rules stopping foreigners competing at German championships against EU law.

"The ECJ has always granted sporting organizations a little more leeway in their rulemaking and has said it is permissible to consider citizenship."

Silver lining for Biffi

Despite their being a long way to go Biffi is remaining postive. 

"I always to try find the silver lining in everything. What's the positive here? Ever since I was shut out, I have had more motivation to train. In the last two years my performance has definitely gotten better."