The organizers of the European Super League (ESL) won an important victory inside a Madrid court on Tuesday. A22, promoters of the dissident league, won an appeal previously filed against FIFA and UEFA.
The court rules that UEFA and FIFA cannot sanction the ESL. FIFA and UEFA wanted to penalize the ESL organizers for trying to form the league.
The court describes the complaints of FIFA and UEFA against the Super League as naive and flimsy
CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs revealed official court documents regarding the decision. “Affirming that, outside of the UEFA and FIFA ecosystem, an independent professional football competition could be freely created that could compete with theirs, free from their interference. That reveals the utmost naivety,” the statement said.
“Because the defendants have such strong market power that from their monopoly position they are capable of intimidating, as they have done through public statements such as those that have motivated this lawsuit.”
“The initiative of the businessman who wants to enter into competition is attacked by the monopolist who does not want to and uses power to obstruct. The possible justification of the conduct of FIFA and UEFA as an attempt to protect the European sports model is, prima facie, a flimsy excuse.”
The decision comes six weeks after FIFA and UEFA received the support of the Court of Justice of the European Communities on the matter. Athanasios Rantos insisted that the court sided with the sport’s two governing bodies in blocking the formation of ESL. Rantos claimed that ESL organizers must abide by FIFA/UEFA rules regarding a breakaway league.
Organizers target ESL return in 2024
However, ESL could very well return to normal. A22 CEO Bernd Reichart has always maintained that the league will bounce back in the coming years. This was even after the Rantos decision last month. “It is important to explain the legal context. The Super League is not dead, not at all, it is very much alive”, Reichart recently proclaimed.
“We have met with more than 30 clubs in more than 10 countries in Europe, who share our diagnosis of football’s problems and believe that fundamental reforms in the competitions and a proper system of financial fair play are necessary.”
Reichart and the rest of the ESL organizers have tentatively planned to reintroduce the league by 2024. As of now, only Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid remain firmly in the plans. However, other clubs could join the massive trio. Initially, 12 teams showed interest in forming the ESL in 2021. The organizers would prefer a full league of 20 clubs to complete the competition.
PHOTO: NurPhoto
