Ceferin and UEFA still feel like they ‘won’ based on Thursday’s judgement by the European Court of Justice, but this fight is far from over and the door’s not closed on an eventual Super League. Here’s what to make of today’s news.
the European Court of Justice finally issued its judgement in the case pitting the remaining European Super League clubs (Barcelona and Real Madrid) against UEFA and FIFA.
The Super League and its backers, A22 Sports, had argued that UEFA’s prohibition of the would-be competition, originally launched in April 2021, and its prospective punishments for participating clubs was an illegal monopoly under European competition law. The Super League clubs argued that the game’s governing bodies were abusing their dominant position as regulators and competition organizers in stopping clubs from forming their own tournaments outside of the current framework of European football (the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League). The ECJ’s judgement is binding and can’t be appealed.
The stakes were very high. A win for UEFA and FIFA would quash any real attempt for clubs — many of which are private companies — to organise their own competitions and administer them as they see fit, without governing body approval. A win for the Super League would open the door, potentially, to clubs — not governing bodies — deciding who they wanted to play against, when they wanted to play and how to divide the revenue.
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Now to the thing you want to know: Who won? Well, the judgement fell somewhere in the middle, and it’s complicated. Both sides are claiming victory to some degree. Let’s attempt to make some sense of it.
What do you mean it’s complicated? This statement seems clear to me: ‘FIFA and UEFA rules on prior approval of interclub football competitions, such as the Super League, are contrary to EU law.’
Except that’s not from the judgement — it’s from the European court’s press release. If you read through the judgement itself, it’s a bit different. Paragraph 144, for example, reads it’s “legitimate” that any new tournaments or competitions be subject to “common rules.” And these are “rules such as those put in place by FIFA and UEFA.” Lawyers, eh?
UEFA made the point that what the judgement is actually saying is there was effectively no adequate framework back in 2021 (when the clubs tried to launch the Super League) and that the regulations they introduced in 2022 “require strengthening” to be compliant with Thursday’s judgement and that they would do just that.
OK, so if UEFA make new rules to comply with European law, they’re home free? Would that mean UEFA still get to approve any new competitions?
It’s not clear-cut.
