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Dec 21 (Reuters) – The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Thursday that European football’s governing body, UEFA, and its global counterpart, FIFA, had violated European law by preventing 12 clubs from forming a European Super League (ESL).
WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE?
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus plus nine other European major clubs announced the breakaway ESL — a closed league — in April 2021.
The sports progression company A22 contributed to the creation of the ESL.
But the move collapsed within 48 hours after an outcry from fans, governments and players forced Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to pull out.
WHAT WAS THE CASE OF ESL VS. UEFA?
A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said the ESL wanted to break what he described was a monopoly of competitions run by UEFA, which has organised European competitions for nearly 70 years and sees the ESL as a significant threat.
When the dissident clubs threatened sanctions, the ESL took legal action, claiming that UEFA and FIFA had a monopoly position, which violated the European Union’s Law on Free Movement and Competition.
Despite the withdrawal of nine clubs, the three that resisted (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus) still hoped that the ESL would be operational. However, Juventus opted to pull out earlier this year when the Italian club’s board of directors changed.
Real and Barca took the case to a Spanish court, which then appealed to the Luxembourg-based European Court.
WHAT WAS THE VERDICT OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE?The Court said UEFA and FIFA had contravened EU law by preventing the formation of a Super League and had abused their dominant position by banning clubs from competing in the ESL.
The court said that the regulation and organisation of sports festivals does not constitute a violation of EU festival law and that sports federations can deny the market to third parties, but only if such refusal is justified by genuine objectives.
The court added that at present “there is no framework for FIFA and UEFA regulations to ensure that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. “
The court’s ruling states that the two organizations must “comply with the rules of the festival and respect the freedoms of movement,” adding that their approval rules and sanctions constitute unjustified restrictions on the free disposal of the facilities.
“The Court finds that the organisation of football competitions between clubs and the exploitation of media rights clearly constitute economic activities,” he said.
“That’s why they have to respect the rules of the festival and respect freedom of movement. “
However, the court stated that the judgment did necessarily imply that the assignment of LEC had to be approved. That is for the Spanish court to decide.
In this case, the Court of Justice interpreted only EU law or the validity of an EU act, not the dispute itself.
WHAT DOES THE DECISION MEAN FOR FOOTBALL?
The verdict means European clubs can join another continental league — without the threat of sanctions — instead of playing in competitions run solely by UEFA. Soon after the verdict, A22 released another proposal for new competitions with 64 men’s and 32 women’s teams playing midweek matches in a league system across Europe.
Although the original Super League allocation was a closed competition, in the new allocation clubs would participate on the basis of sporting merit without permanent members. The clubs would also remain in their respective domestic leagues.
However, there is no guarantee that Premier League clubs will sign up for the new competition.
Two months after the six Englishmen withdrew from the loan in 2021, they announced they would pay a total of £22 million ($27. 78 million) as a “gesture of goodwill. “
They face a 30-point deduction if they attempt a similar move in the future, while the Premier League has also said they will be fined £25m if they attempt another breakaway.
($1 = 0. 7921 pounds) (Reporting via Rohith Nair and Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Ed Osmond)