 It was during this time that he was discharged from his club because of a quota for non-European Union players set in the league.In 2003 he presented his case to play against the Deutscher Handballbund (German Handball Federation) to the European Court of Justice, which ruled in his favour, thereby setting a precedent, now known as the Kolpak ruling.Kolpak and Kronau/Östringen were promoted to the Bundesliga in 2003 and 2005, with a highest Bundesliga placing of sixth in 2006, reached the final of the DHB-Pokal in 2006 and 2007, and played in the last 16 of the EHF Cup in 2007.