On the heels of the Global Champions League’s legal victory against the Federation Equestre Internationale—with the Brussels Court Of Appeal upholding a previous decision to allow the former group to launch its own show jumping team tour—the FEI Bureau has stated they’ll continue the fight.

They voted to do so unanimously during the FEI Bureau meeting at the FEI General Assembly in Puerto Rico on Nov. 10. 

The Global Champions League lodged an original complaint against the Belgian Competition Authority this summer, stating that the FEI’s rule against allowing riders, horses and show officials to participate in non-FEI events six months prior to participating in an FEI event violated the European Union’s competition laws.

In July, the BCA suspended that exclusivity clause, clearing the way for the GCL to form its show jumping tour in 2016, and the court of appeal upheld that decision Oct. 22. 

“We simply want justice,” said FEI President Ingmar De Vos in a statement. “We do not want our athletes to be the victims of this ongoing legal case, so we will abide by the Belgian Competition Authority ruling and not sanction them or their horses for competing in GCL events, but it is very important that they are aware that there has been no ruling on the merits of the case and that these interim measures guarantee nothing on the future of unsanctioned events.”

The FEI statement added that the group is seeking an annulment of the BCA decision based on the grounds that it shouldn’t apply outside of Belgium. 

“The FEI is not the only international federation undergoing legal proceedings on unsanctioned events,” stated the FEI release. “The European Commission recently opened a formal anti-trust investigation into International Skating Union rules that impose a lifetime ban from competitions, including the Olympic Games and the ISU World and European Championships, on athletes that take part in events not approved by the ISU.

“The European Commission has confirmed to the FEI that it will ensure the coherent application of EU anti-trust rules in the FEI and ISU proceedings,” it continued. “It has also clearly indicated that the results of its investigation would set a precedent for similar issues in other sports and provide guidance for national competition authorities and/or national courts for dealing with future cases.” 

There is no date yet set for the Brussels Court Of Appeal to hear the case as part of its annulment process, or for it to go in front of the BCA for a full hearing. 

“Horse welfare and sporting integrity are the two key principles of the unsanctioned events rule, and these principles can only be protected and promoted by putting in place rules, including anti-doping and veterinary regulations, and by making acceptance of international events onto the official calendar conditional upon the Organizing Committee adopting all of those regulations and making them binding on all participants in those events,” said De Vos. “Without these rules, we have no way of safeguarding the welfare of horses and athletes participating in such events, or of protecting the integrity of the events.

“We are confident that the European Commission will accept that legislation on unsanctioned events is not against the EU anti-trust rules.”

Representatives from the GCL did not answer requests for comment.