The Court of Justice of the European Union made the following decision: FIFA and UEFA took action Abusing its dominant position by preventing the birth of the Super League by threatening sanctions against clubs and players participating in the Super League. Great win in the Super LeagueA defeat for traditional association football, which effectively lost its monopoly on the organization of international club tournaments, which was reborn two years later as a viable project in the future.
A decision that contradicts the opinion of the chief prosecutor of the European Union and gives hope for the future creation of the competition supported by Florentino Pérez (Big winner of the day in Luxembourg)Recognizing the co-existence of UEFA and private competitions, sanctions cannot be imposed on clubs and players participating in them.
Partial victory in the Super League
The Super League is no longer a reality. Not at all. The ‘essence’ of the sentence made public this Thursday consists in emphasizing that: UEFA And Fifa They can’t veto third-party competitions on a whim, instead they need to develop a strategy. Regulatory framework governing the requirements for the authorization of these competitions. And these should “guarantee” transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate”.
Association football still has the upper hand to some extent, but the Super League is winning today because it is rising from the ashes, but it will have to go through a long legal road to see the light (if it ever does). . UEFA and FIFA could create their own rules to allow ‘super leagues’ to compete against their competitionsHowever, the courts will have the final say on this issue.
UEFA and FIFA based their defense on the special protection of sport as a physical and social activity provided by European regulations. But the CJEU focuses on the economic component of the activity and judges the case according to this criterion.
Details of the sentence
“The Court of Justice is of the opinion that the organization of club football competitions and the use of broadcasting rights are clearly economic activities. As a result, These activities must respect competition rules and freedom of movement.“Although sport, as an economic activity, has certain specific features, such as the existence of associations with powers of regulation, control and sanction,” emphasizes the report submitted by the Luxembourg court.
“Where a dominant undertaking has the power to determine the conditions under which potentially competing undertakings may enter the market, this power shall risk of conflict of interestIt should be accompanied by criteria that guarantee its transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature. The powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to any criteria of this nature. In conclusion, FIFA and UEFA abuse their dominant position” he adds, with a harsh reproach to both institutions.
Approval for Super League
However, the CJEU warns that the decision was made public today (this decision is binding and there are no objections against it). does not necessarily mean that the Super League should be allowedbecause this was not the purpose of the case filed with the court.
In fact, the CJEU’s main accusation against UEFA and FIFA is that the “different powers” regarding the possibility of pre-authorizing a private competition and imposing sanctions on its participants “are not subject to substantive criteria and procedural rules” that allow the guarantee transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate“.
That is, it calls on UEFA and FIFA to include regulatory framework procedures that allow third parties to organize private competitions outside the federative area. An invitation that brings to mind many years of legal conflict.
Context
The Super League was launched in April 2021. a closed competitionIt is supported by 12 of the continent’s leading clubs. The immediate and harsh reaction from football institutions, different governments and fan groups led to nine of these 12 clubs publicly withdrawing from the project. This year, Juventus also resigned, leaving Real Madrid and FC Barcelona alone.
Reichart, the CEO of A22 in the past months, announced that the Super League would be a new super league, without going into details. An open format with at least 60 clubs involvedand that the results of national leagues will be taken into account as sporting merits for participation in the European tournament.
After the announcement that the Super League will open, All European football institutions have positioned themselves radically against it.and the majority of continental governments, including the Spanish government. In addition to UEFA and FIFA, which are directly involved in the case as defendants, LaLiga and RFEF also showed their clear rejection of the project supported by Florentino Pérez.
The case returns to Madrid
The case will now return to the 17th Commercial Court of Madrid, which owns it. Sofia Gil Garcia The investigation of the case will have to continue based on the binding report published by the CJEU this Thursday. Procedure suspended Until now, there were injunctions preventing FIFA and UEFA from retaliating against the clubs involved.
These precautionary measures were given by the court substitute president at the beginning of the case. Manuel Ruiz de LaraIt was rejected by Judge Sofia Gil and later reinstated by the Madrid Provincial Court.