Will there possibly be a Super League in the future? There could be a preliminary ruling at the European Court of Justice.
Things are getting serious in the Super League. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is currently to clarify whether UEFA and FIFA are using a monopoly position in football in an anti-competitive manner and whether this status is compatible with European law – i.e. whether, conversely, competitions such as a Super League are possible in the future. On Thursday (December 15, 2022) Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his opinion in Luxembourg.
What exactly is being negotiated?
After a lawsuit by the “European Super League Company”, a commercial court in Madrid had issued an injunction prohibiting UEFA from threatening or imposing sanctions against the Super League clubs. More importantly, the court also asked the European Court of Justice to clarify key issues. These can basically be summarized as follows:
- Do UEFA and FIFA hold a monopoly that is incompatible with EU law?
- Are the associations illegally preventing the establishment of new competitions such as the Super League?
If the court answers these questions in the affirmative, it would in principle allow for a Super League or other competitions. The Advocate General’s Opinion on Thursday is not yet a decision by the ECJ, but it does provide a direction.
How could the process end?
“Usually the judges of the ECJ largely follow these requests”says the Berlin sports lawyer Holger Jakob in an interview with the sports show. “So it could be a strong indication of what European football will be like in the future.” Possible scenarios are:
- A decision for UEFA and FIFA: Everything remains as it is.
- A decision for the Super League: Alternative leagues may in principle be founded and operated.
- Decisions with restrictions: For example, the court could agree with UEFA and FIFA, but require structural changes.
The judgment of the ECJ will probably be made in the spring of 2023.
What arguments do the associations have?
The case law is particularly relevant for UEFA because it could compete with the Champions League. “UEFA believes that there is a special meaning of sport that protects the monopoly”says Jacob. “The so-called one-place principle regulates that there is only one association per sport. In the international hierarchy of football, from FIFA to UEFA to the national associations of the DFB down to the state and regional associations.”
Many European institutions have committed themselves to this “European sport model” and have clearly sided with UEFA. That’s what the EU Parliament called the Super League in a resolution “a prime example” for the “Threat to the European dimension of sport”. The Council of the EU also acknowledged the existing structures. The court is independent, says Jakob. “But such signals naturally have a certain influence.”
What do Super League clubs want?
In addition to the Spain-based “European Super League Company”, the Spanish sports marketing agency A22 is also suing. Behind them are the three officially remaining clubs still chasing the Super League after their stunning failure in April 2021: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin.
They feel that they are wrongly prevented from participating in the market and forced into the general conditions of the associations. A22 boss Reichart said in a video message on Monday that he didn’t think UEFA’s monopoly was right. “UEFA organizes the competitions and at the same time can reject other competitions – it’s a conflict of interest.”
Can there be a Super League quickly after a decision?
“If the ECJ decides like this, many such leagues could be founded”, says Jacob. A22 claim to be in talks with several clubs. A22 is currently trying to sell a revised Super League format to the public with former RTL boss Bernd Reichart.
It explains that the clubs should remain in their national leagues – but this was not even up for debate at the first attempt in April 2021. In addition, there should be an “open model” with promotion and relegation, which is still unacceptable for national leagues such as the Bundesliga because they would no longer be the sole route to the European Cup.
And the big question would be who actually wants to play.
Which clubs would you consider?
while it’s in Spain or Italy there could be comrades-in-arms, there are greater obstacles elsewhere.
- England: In its rules, the Premier League threatens breakaway clubs with a 30-point deduction if one of them “unauthorized competitions” connects. The ECJ case law does not apply here due to Brexit. The threat of such point deductions could remain there and represent a decisive obstacle.
- Germany: Participation in the Super League would be difficult to sell in public, especially in Germany. In addition, such a serious decision would probably have to be made in general meetings in the majority of clubs in the Bundesliga, with the majority of members being determined – with rather low chances of success.
- France: Of course, Paris Saint-Germain would be a priority. But this club and its president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi from Qatar, took a lot of effort to win UEFA over to their side. The PSG boss, who as head of the broadcaster beIN Sports is also a loyal customer of UEFA’s TV rights, now sits on the UEFA Executive Committee. He is also head of the ECA, the lobby organization for top clubs. Al-Khelaifi was a key UEFA ally in the fight against the first attempt to form a Super League in April 2021.
UEFA has also announced a significant increase in club revenues for the upcoming 2024-2027 rights cycle. A total of up to 15 billion euros should then be involved, currently it is around 9 billion. That would make a Super League less financially necessary.
The Super League was founded in 2021 not by three but by twelve clubs. In addition to Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Liverpool Manchester United and Manchester City were also involved. According to information from the sports show, the Super League continues to insist on a contractual obligation for all twelve clubs.
Would a compromise be conceivable?
It doesn’t look like that at all. UEFA signaled A22’s willingness to talk and invited agency boss Reichart to a meeting in Nyon. There, UEFA snubbed the Super League envoys: numerous high-ranking representatives from national leagues, top European clubs, fan organizations and player unions were in the room and presented Reichart and colleagues with a refusal. The matter will now be clarified before the ECJ.