Fifa and Uefa rules blocking a potential European Super League have been ruled to be “unlawful”, a landmark ruling has found. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its long-awaited verdict in Luxembourg on Thursday morning after the European Super League Company (ESLC) first took legal action against both governing bodies in April 2021.
“The FIFA and UEFA rules making any new interclub football
project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and
prohibiting clubs and players from playing in those competitions, are
unlawful,” said the ECJ.
The ruling will embolden those aiming to break down UEFA’s
powers, with Real Madrid and Barcelona still fully committed to the notion
of a breakaway league.
A22, the sports management company aiming to launch a new
European competition, has published plans for new men’s and women’s tournaments
which it proposes would run midweek and provide “competitive drama and decisive
matches throughout the entire football season”.
“We’ve won the right to compete,” said Bernd Reichart, A22
chief executive. “UEFA’s monopoly is over. Football is free. Now the clubs will
not suffer threats and punishments. They are free to decide their own future.”
Fifteen judges in the ECJ’s Grand Chamber passed this
binding verdict after months of deliberation and, given its status as the
highest court in the EU, it is not subject to any appeal.
“The Court holds that, where an undertaking in a dominant
position has the power to determine the conditions in which potentially
competing undertakings may access the market, that power must, given the risk
of conflict of interest to which it gives rise, be subject to criteria which
are suitable for ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non discriminatory
and proportionate,” the ruling added.
“However, the powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to any
such criteria. FIFA and UEFA are, therefore, abusing a dominant position.”
Organisers announced a revamped format for the plan in
February which would see 64 teams competing in a multi-league competition. They say a new-look Super League would be
based only on “sporting merit” with no permanent members.
The proposal would see 64 teams compete across “Star, Gold
and Blue Leagues”, in groups of eight with a guaranteed minimum of 14 matches
per year. There would be promotion and
relegation between leagues, qualification via domestic competition while all
games would be broadcast for free via a new digital streaming platform,
organisers say.
A corresponding women’s competition comprised of 32 sides
has also been proposed.
The UK government, which threatened to drop a “legislative
bomb” to prevent English teams taking part when the ESL launched, said after
the ruling on Thursday that a new independent football regulator would “stop
clubs from joining any similar breakaway competitions in the future”.
A lot of what happens in football is potentially at odds
with competition law, Underlying this
proposal is resentment elsewhere in Europe at the financial dominance of the
Premier League.
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