2023-12-21 09:59:38
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that FIFA and UEFA have exercised a abuse of its dominant position by blocking the birth of the Super League through the threat of sanctions to the clubs and players who participated in them. A resounding victory for the Super Leaguewhich is reborn as a viable project in the future after two years, and a defeat for traditional federated football, which de facto loses its monopoly on the organization of international club tournaments.
A ruling that contradicts the opinion of the attorney general of the European Union and that gives hope to the future creation of the competition promoted by Florentino Pérez (big winner of the day in Luxembourg)by recognizing the coexistence of UEFA and private competitions without the clubs and players who participate in them being able to be sanctioned for it.
UEFA and FIFA based their defense on the special protection of sport, as a physical and social activity, provided by European regulations. The CJEU, however, focuses on the economic component of the activity and judges the case based on that criterion.
The details of the sentence
“The Court of Justice considers that the organization of club football competitions and the exploitation of broadcasting rights are clearly economic activities. Consequently, These activities must respect competition rules and freedom of movement.despite the fact that sport, as an economic activity, presents certain specific characteristics, such as the existence of associations endowed with regulatory, control and sanctioning powers,” highlights the report provided by the Luxembourg court.
“Where an undertaking in a dominant position has the power to determine under what conditions potentially competing undertakings may enter the market, this power, taking into account the risk of conflict of interest that generates, must be accompanied by criteria that guarantee its transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature. Well, the powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to any criteria of this nature. Consequently, FIFA and UEFA are abusing their dominant position“he adds, in a harsh reproach to both institutions.
The CJEU warns, however, that the ruling made public today (which is binding and against which there is no appeal) does not necessarily mean that the Super League should be authorizedsince that was not the objective of the litigation brought to the court.
The context
The Super League was launched in April 2021 as a closed competition, backed by 12 of the continent’s main clubs. The immediate and forceful contrary reaction from football institutions, different governments and fan groups caused nine of those 12 clubs to publicly withdraw from the project. This year, Juventus also resigned, leaving Real Madrid and FC Barcelona alone.
In recent months, Reichart, as CEO of A22, has been announcing, without going into details, that the Super League would have an open format, with at least 60 clubs involvedand in which the results of the national leagues would be taken into account as sporting merits to access the European tournament.
After the announcement of the launch of the Super League, practically all European football institutions positioned themselves radically against, as well as the majority of continental governments, including the Spanish one. In addition to UEFA and FIFA, directly involved in the case as defendants, LaLiga and the RFEF have also shown their frontal rejection of the project promoted by Florentino Pérez.
The case returns to Madrid
Related news
Now, the case will return to the Commercial Court number 17 of Madrid, whose owner, Sofia Gil Garcia will have to continue with the investigation of the case based on the binding report issued this Thursday by the CJEU. The procedure was suspended until now, with precautionary measures for FIFA and UEFA that prevented them from retaliating against the clubs involved.
These precautionary measures were issued by the substitute head of the court at the beginning of the case, Manuel Ruiz de Laradenied by Judge Sofía Gil and later restored by the Provincial Court of Madrid.
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