The prospect of a closed or semi-closed European Super League operating in mainstream football appears dead in the water after a key legal opinion was issued on Thursday.
UEFA and FIFA’s rules allowing them to block new competitions, as they did with the Super League when it launched in April last year, was deemed to be lawful in an initial, non-binding opinion issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The issuing of the threat of sanctions to clubs seeking to participate in unapproved leagues was also deemed compatible with EU law by the Advocate General (AG) in the case.
UEFA warmly welcomed the opinion, which it described as “unequivocal”, while the European Club Association said it was a “clear rejection” of the efforts made last year by 12 of the continent’s top clubs to form a new league.
The clubs announced themselves as founder members of a new Super League late on April 18 last year, with the stated intention being for 15 clubs to be permanent members of the league, with five extra clubs invited on a seasonal basis.
However, within 72 hours nine of them had withdrawn, including all of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’, amid opposition from UEFA and FIFA and outrage from supporters.
Those backing the Super League took the matter to court in Spain initially, with a Madrid commercial court asking the ECJ to rule on whether UEFA and FIFA abused a dominant position by blocking the league and seeking to sanction the clubs.
The opinion of AG Athanasios Rantos is non-binding, pending the final ruling from the court expected next year, but if the final ruling mirrors this opinion it appears to rule out the possibility of a league even vaguely similar to the one proposed last year ever operating within the European football mainstream.
“Whilst ESLC (European Super League Company) is free to set up its own independent football competition outside the UEFA and FIFA ecosystem, it cannot however, in parallel with the creation of such a competition, continue to participate in the football competitions organised by FIFA and UEFA without the prior authorisation of those federations,” a court release issued on Thursday stated.
UEFA has faced threats of a breakaway by Europe’s top clubs almost ever since the European Cup – the forerunner to the Champions League – began in 1955, with the 2021 attempt only the most recent. But, if this opinion is endorsed by the court judges, then any clubs would have to be prepared to break away…
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