It has been announced this morning that the European Court of Justice have ruled that UEFA and FIFA acted against competition law by blocking the attempted formation of a European Super League in 2021.
A statement from the European Court of Justice reads that: “there is no framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. Similarly, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights related to those competitions are such as to restrict competition, given their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union.”
Bernd Reichard, CEO of A22 Sports Management, who were a co-claimant on the case and are Super League promoters said: “We have won the ‘right to compete’. The UEFA-monopoly is over. Football is free. Clubs are now free from the threat of sanction and free to determine their own futures. For fans, we propose free viewing of all Super League matches. For clubs, revenues and solidarity spending will be guaranteed.”
While this does not mean that a Super League will definitely be going ahead at any point, it seems that this is at least one major obstacle out of the way of its possible formation.
There was a huge fan backlash from clubs when they tried to join the Super League just over two years ago, and one imagines there would be similar hurdles for clubs to contend with if they tried this again.
[Pictures from Sky Sports News]
BREAKING: Court rules that UEFA can't block creation of European Super League