The trial that pits the Super League against UEFA and FIFA was seen for sentencing this Tuesday, after two days of allegations before the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg. After hearing the regulatory bodies of football, the representatives of 21 countries of the European Union, and the lawyers of the secessionist competition headed by Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, and Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona, the Court announced that its attorney general, the Greek Athanasios Rantos, will publish an opinion on December 15 that is not binding but usually prefigures the rulings. At stake is the order established in world football by UEFA and FIFA, denounced by the Super League for their alleged character as monopolistic organizations that abuse their dominant position. Sentencing is expected in 2023.
The countries of the Union, against the Super League. Except for the Czech Republic, whose speech was conciliatory, the rest of the intervening countries expressed their opposition to a Super League that many defined as a “cartel”, in the sense of a closed organization that prevents the development of the free market. The lawyers representing the Super League replied that, contrary to prevailing opinion, it was UEFA that removed the smaller countries and clubs from the system. “Structurally, there are 20 countries that are excluded from access to the Champions League,” argued one of the lawyers of the disruptive project.
The Commission protects footballers against UEFA. The round of allegations concluded with an intervention by the European Commission. The body, which acts as a guarantor of free competition, intervened through the lawyer Carlos Urraca Caviedes, who warned UEFA and FIFA of the abuse of power that could be incurred if it sanctioned soccer players from rebellious clubs. “The exercise of regulatory functions must be subject to limits,” he said. “It does not seem necessary or appropriate that footballers be sanctioned by excluding them from UEFA and FIFA international competitions.” The Commission’s lawyer pointed out that FIFA and UEFA should clearly define the authorization criteria, both for clubs to new competitions and for players to already established tournaments, “to guarantee effective access to the market.”
Debate on economic aid to grassroots football. Most of the participating countries defended the UEFA model, extolling its economic aid to grassroots football, both for women and men. The Superliga lawyers questioned UEFA’s solidarity with grassroots football and assured that the competition they intended to establish had planned to distribute 400 million euros among the quarries. Donald Slater, UEFA’s lawyer, objected that the Super League shareholders had made the payment of those 400 million subject to “available liquidity”, which he pointed out was uncertain. The magistrates of the Court asked the UEFA representatives if their opposition to the Super League did not imply a restriction on free competition. Those inquired replied that no, since nothing prevents secessionist clubs from founding and competing in their own tournaments, if they first abandon the competitions that, like the Champions League, are regulated by UEFA. Lawyer Luis Alonso, representative of A22 Sports Management, the subsidiary company of the Super League, replied to this argument when he explained that if the rebels left UEFA competitions they would risk suffering “bankruptcy”, and that what they were looking for was not “break a model” but “make it grow by broadening the revenue base.”
Opposition from fans. Donald Slater closed UEFA’s intervention by warning that the Super League “did not fail because of anyone’s anti-competitive behaviour” but “because European fans greatly appreciate the current system and the values of merit and solidarity it represents”. The Football Supporters Europe fan organization, recognized as the most representative by the national leagues and by UEFA, spoke on Monday under the slogan “no more Super Leagues” insisting on its “frontal opposition to this elitist project that threatens the European model of sport”.
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