The European Court of Justice has delivered a significant blow to the prospect of a European Super League being created, with a judge ruling that the current rules applied by FIFA and UEFA are compatible with EU competition law.
The European Superleague Company - effectively Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus - had brought a complaint to Madrid’s commercial court in which they argued that the governing bodies had created a cartel that shut down attempts for alternative competitions to be established.
But the Madrid court referred the case to the ECJ, the highest possible seat that deals with matters of European competition law, and a hearing was held in Luxembourg in July.
The Super League lawyers argued that the governing body has a monopoly on organising competitions and by threatening sanctions for any player who participates in another competition, such as the proposed Super League, they would be in contravention of the bloc’s competition law.
But the ECJ's advocate general Athanasios Rantos has this morning provided his initial judgment on the case and stated that the governing bodies are within the legal framework.
In an initial statement the court said: “The FIFA-UEFA rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval are compatible with EU competition law."
A 50-page document is expected to be released later today outlining the reasons in greater detail.
A full ECJ judgment will arrive early in 2023, expanding on today's opinion, and that will be referred back to the Madrid court, who in the vast majority of cases will proceed with the ruling recommended- even if today’s judgment is framed as non-binding guidance.
While clubs would still be free to establish a rival competition, this ruling would effectively give UEFA the power to expel them from their structure.
Within minutes of the judgment being made public, UEFA said in a statement: "UEFA welcomes today’s unequivocal Opinion of Advocate General Rantos, which is an encouraging step towards preserving the existing dynamic and democratic governance structure of the European football pyramid.
"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."
A22, a company formed to explore the creation of a Super League, has spent recent months trying to reposition the Super League competition as an open one rather than a closed shop for select elite clubs. UEFA, whose president Aleksander Ceferin had described those involved in the Super League as “snakes and liars” last year, agreed to meet A22 representatives last month in a surprise move.
But that meeting ended in acrimony, with the governing body taking exception to a statement issued afterwards from A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart saying his “takeaway” from it was that the “status quo was satisfactory” to UEFA.
A22 claimed that they were “ambushed” at the two-hour long meeting as a number of senior executives across football who oppose a Super League were also present alongside Ceferin.
UEFA, in response, said that they were "currently checking the recording to see if they are talking about the same meeting."
Real and Barca were warned earlier this month they would bankrupt LaLiga and themselves if they pressed ahead with plans for a European Super League.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas said: “Madrid and Barcelona have been competing in the league for 90 years. They became big by competing in these competitions. So now, trying to kick the rest [of the clubs] in the a**, I don’t think that’s fair either.”
The ruling could have a knock-on impact in other sports, too. It could even be used as part of the ongoing LIV Golf dispute, where players who have jumped ship to the Saudi-backed series have been banned by the PGA Tour.
