Bermuda Post

Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Football Super League gets red card from EU court aide

Football Super League gets red card from EU court aide

In an explosive opinion, advocate general backs football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.

UEFA 2, Super League 0.

The Court of Justice of the European Union may deliver a huge blow to the breakaway Super League after a court legal adviser handed down an opinion Thursday that falls firmly on the side of football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.

UEFA and FIFA have the right to use tough measures to protect their existing tournaments without falling foul of EU competition law, wrote Advocate General Athanasios Rantos. The court aide's opinion is usually followed in judges' final rulings and the court should come out with that in spring 2023.

Rantos wrote that the governing bodies’ existing rules — which require prior approval for new leagues — were “compatible with EU law.” Crucially, he added that EU law did not prohibit UEFA and FIFA from threatening sanctions against clubs that would join rebel leagues. He also came down on UEFA and FIFA’s side regarding the “exclusive marketing” of the rights to their tournaments.

The opinion is a major setback to the Super League, which had complained that UEFA ran an illegal monopoly in European football and hopes that the court would open a new pathway for it. It also wanted UEFA’s roles as the sport's operator and regulator to be broken up — but that now looks almost certain not to happen.

Antitrust regulators have appeared sympathetic to players' arguments that sporting federations wield monopoly-like powers over where they can compete. A landmark 2017 antitrust decision from the European Commission slammed International Skating Union rules that forbade athletes from competing in rival events.

But logic contained in the ISU opinion also delivered Thursday, where Rantos pointed out that “the mere fact that the same entity performs the functions of both regulator and organizer of sporting events does not in itself entail an infringement of EU competition law,” is a clear boost for UEFA’s current structure.

The opinions point toward sports governing bodies being “let off the hook most of the time” by EU competition law as interpreted by the EU’s top court, said Pablo Ibáñez Colomo, professor of law at the London School of Economics.

“The moment Rantos says the object of these measures — whether it is the pre-authorization, whether it is the sanctions — is not anticompetitive, then I think it's all over,” he told POLITICO, adding that the opinion follows established case law.

The opinion also marks a defense of the European Sports Model with its key tenets of open competition and solidarity. If followed by the judges, it will strengthen UEFA and FIFA's role in governing football.


'Clear rejection'


After the setback, the Super League scrambled for morsels of comfort in the opinion.

In a statement, Bernd Reichart, CEO of A22 — the company promoting the Super League — said it was "pleased with the recognition of the right of third parties to organize pan-European club competitions." He said the advocate general had "made clear that UEFA has a monopolistic position which comes with important responsibilities for enabling third parties to act freely in the market."

On the other side, Europe's football establishment was jubilant over an opinion that is seen as a "resounding victory,” according to one senior official.

In a statement, UEFA said it “warmly welcomes today’s unequivocal opinion recommending a ruling of the CJEU in support of our central mission to govern European football, protect the pyramid and develop the game across Europe.”

The European Club Association, which represents nearly 250 clubs across the Continent, said that the opinion “proposes a clear rejection of the efforts of a few to undermine the foundations and historical heritage of European football for the many.”

Javier Tebas, the outspoken head of Spain’s La Liga, which Super League holdouts FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are members of, said that his league would “continue to fight for [the] right of European institutions to legislate and provide legal protections for the current European football model.

And the Continent’s leading fan group, Football Supporters Europe — which lambasted Super League chiefs at a heated meeting in Switzerland in October — echoed those thoughts.

It said the opinion “chimes with the position of football supporters across the Continent. Giving even more money and power to a few would be catastrophic, enriching a handful of clubs at the expense of all other levels of the game.”

A dozen of Europe’s leading football clubs launched the proposed Super League in April 2021, but the project collapsed after several clubs pulled out following two days of vociferous opposition from fans, high-profile players and coaches, other clubs and politicians.

Organizers of the rebel league, however, promptly complained to a Madrid court that UEFA and FIFA were running an illegal monopoly in European football. The Madrid court referred the case to EU judges in Luxembourg, and the EU’s top court heard arguments in July 2021.

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus remained solidly in favor of the project, with the latter two currently facing economic and legal problems.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×