The European Court of Justice has declared that FIFA and Uefa are “abusing a dominant position” and that their regulations prohibiting teams from entering independent leagues such as the European Super League are illegal.
The ESL and its supporters, A22, had claimed that by threatening to punish clubs and players who joined the breakaway league, Uefa and Fifa were violating competition law.
The highest court in Europe ruled against the governing bodies on Thursday.
But the court declared: “That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved”.
In December of last year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) declared that the regulations of football’s global and European governing bodies were “compliant with EU competition law.”
The ruling, though, will be viewed as a setback to FIFA’s and Uefa’s authority and ability to control the game.
According to the report, when new contests are “potentially entering the market” Fifa and Uefa must ensure their powers are “transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate”.
The report adds: “However, the powers of Fifa and Uefa are not subject to any such criteria. Fifa and Uefa are, therefore, abusing a dominant position.
“Moreover, given their arbitrary nature, their rules on approval, control and sanctions must be held to be unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services.
“That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court does not rule on that specific project in its judgment.”
The news that 12 teams, including English teams Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham, had signed up for the breakaway competition marked the beginning of the ESL saga in April 2021.
The plans collapsed within 72 hours due to widespread anger and condemnation from fans, other European leagues, and even the government.
Uefa fined the six Premier League teams in addition to Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and AC Milan. However, legal action against Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus was halted, despite Juventus’ July announcement that they intended to withdraw from the project.
However, Real Madrid and Barcelona are still interested in pursuing the ESL, so it hasn’t been completely abandoned.
