In February 2000, a butterfly flapped its wings in the small town of Östringen, just over the German border from France. And with that one flap, English cricket was changed for a generation. Maros Kolpak, a goalkeeper in the second division of the German handball league, signed a new three-year contract with his team, TSV Östringen. Because he was Slovakian, the national federation decided to register him as an overseas player. Under league rules, each team was only allowed two foreigners in its squad. Kolpak, who had lived and worked in Germany for three years already, decided to challenge them in the local court. Slovakia wasn’t in the EU, but had recently signed a trade agreement with it. Kolpak argued it entitled him to work in Germany without restriction.
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