Europe’s Super League revived by court ruling against FIFA and UEFA

BARCELONA (AP):

European football was rocked by a court ruling that revived the rebel Super League yesterday though it wasn’t clear whether any clubs were joining Real Madrid and Barcelona in the breakaway project.

The European Union’s top court said UEFA and FIFA acted unlawfully to block the Super League. The ruling was praised by Madrid who, along with Barcelona, are leading the fight to form a rival competition to the Champions League.

“A Europe of freedoms has triumphed, and also football and its fans have triumphed,” Madrid president Florentino Pérez said.

The original project in April 2021 sparked vehement protests by fans across Europe, chiefly in England, that helped to scuttle Super League within 48 hours, and no new clubs immediately came forward yesterday to support Perez’s vision.

Indeed, many big clubs – including Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain – and supporters’ groups repeated their staunch opposition to Super League, whatever its shape.

“The world of football moved on from the Super League years ago and progressive reforms will continue,” said the European Club Association which represents Europe’s top football clubs. “All the recognised stakeholders of European and world football – spanning confederations, federations, clubs, leagues, players and fans – stand more united than ever against the attempts by a few individuals pursing personal agendas to undermine the very foundations and basic principles of European football.”

The case was heard last year at the European Court of Justice after Super League failed at launch more than two years ago. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called the club leaders then “snakes” and “liars”.

The company formed by 12 clubs – now led by only Real Madrid and Barcelona after Juventus withdrew this year – started legal action and the court was asked to rule on points of EU law by a Madrid tribunal.

Madrid-based A22 Sports Management, which promotes the Super League, immediately announced new proposed competitions for men and women, saying young fans are “turning away” from football.

“I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible with two clubs,” Ceferin reacted sarcastically.

In a presentation streamed on YouTube, A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said there would be no permanent members of the new competition and they would remain committed to their domestic leagues.

The rebel clubs had accused UEFA of breaching European law by allegedly abusing its market dominance of football competitions, and they were backed by the court.

“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,” the court said. “There is no framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.”

The court acknowledged FIFA and UEFA were abusing a dominant position and their rules on approval, control and sanctions “must be held to be unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services”.