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 of FIFA and UEFA are compatible with EU competition law.
The European Super League 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 to establish alternative competitions.
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.
European Super League clubs and UEFA to learn rulings that may define football’s future.
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 full ECJ judgment will arrive early in 2023, expanding on today’s opinion, and that will be referred back to the Madrid court, which in the vast majority of cases, will proceed with the ruling recommended- even if today’s judgment is framed as non-binding.
