The climbdown by European Super League clubs in April 2021 may have ended the competition as an immediate reality, but its chief organisers have never given up.
On Thursday morning, however, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice passed comment on the case of the European Super League Company (ESLC) vs Uefa and Fifa.
The Super League has taken a hammer blow. Here’s why:
What was the court case about?
In April 2021, 12 European football clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Milan, Inter, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid – announced their intention to form a European Super League. This was not a breakaway league but an alternative to the Champions League. The clubs intended to remain in their domestic league structures.
Within several days – after a backlash from supporters, managers and players – nine of the clubs, including all the English representatives, pulled out of the project and offered apologies for their actions. Only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remained.
The company – European Super League Company (ESLC) – formed as part of the intended project, now led by those three remaining clubs, mounted a legal case against Uefa and Fifa, the two governing bodies under which they and their players operate. That case was brought to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Their claim was that Uefa and Fifa breached EU competition law when they threatened the 12 clubs with sanctions, including banning their players from the World Cup and European Championship. They argued that, because Uefa and Fifa had a monopoly on organising and governing football leagues and cup competitions for clubs and national teams under their jurisdiction, they should not be permitted to threaten any new competitor with sanctions.
Uefa’s barrister Donald Slater argued that a Super League that operated under any form of closed shop was a “textbook example of a cartel” and therefore that ESLC would itself illegally restrict competition in consumer markets (by which they mean the domestic leagues they operate in).
What has the European Court of Justice said?
The opinion of ECJ advocate general Athanasios Rantos was succinct and unequivocal.
“The Fifa-Uefa rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval are compatible with EU competition law,” he wrote.
“Whilst ESLC is free to set up its own independent football competition outside the Uefa and Fifa ecosystem, it cannot however, in parallel with the creation of such a competition, continue to participate in the football competitions organised by Fifa and Uefa without the prior authorisation of those federations.”
The point is this: ESLC are perfectly within their rights to set up a new league and the clubs within their project play in it. But they can only combine participation in that new league with continued participation in existing competitions governed by Uefa and Fifa if those governing bodies allow it. And these bodies are not going to allow it.
What happens next?
It is important to note that Mr Rantos’s opinion is not a legally binding verdict. Instead, he was merely reflecting a view for judges to consider when they deliver a final verdict on the case next year. That final ruling will be made by a 15-member Grand Chamber, most likely in the spring of 2023.
But with the opinion so unequivocal, this should be viewed as a significant blow to ESL, the three clubs still within the plan, and any other club who may have withdrawn but still harbours private hopes of cashing in on such a plan.
What was the reaction?
Uefa: “The opinion reinforces the central role of federations in protecting the sport, upholding fundamental principles of sporting merit and open access across our members, as well as uniting football with shared responsibility and solidarity. Football in Europe remains united and steadfastly opposed to the ESL, or any such breakaway proposals, which would threaten the entire European sports ecosystem.”
Charlie Marshall, CEO of the European Club Association, which opposes the Super League: “ECA exists to promote, represent and serve European football clubs of all shapes and sizes. We do this by working hand in hand not only with our members but also with our major stakeholders, none more important than Uefa. This partnership is the foundation of the future sustainability and success of European club football and we look forward to driving its responsible evolution in a way which secures it for future generations, not destroys it.”
A22, the marketing company working for ESLC: “Clubs and players must be able to know in advance conditions to be able to participate in third-party events. Sanctions must also be sufficiently clear, predictable and proportionate to limit any risk of arbitrary application.”
Additional reporting by Press Association
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/NoWCk1s
Post a Comment