Aleksander Ceferin (Lapresse)
Superalloy yes! EU Court rejects UEFA and FIFA. Earthquake in football
Green light for the Super League. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled an abuse of a dominant position by UEFA and FIFA, which cannot be the only bodies authorized to organize competitions for football clubs. The appeal presented by the European Superleague Company on 27 May 2021 was accepted.
Super League, EU Court: Fifa and UEFA bans are illegal
Fifa and UEFA rules that make any new interclub football project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and ban clubs and players from playing in such competitions, are illegal. There is no framework for FIFA and UEFA rules that ensures they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. Likewise, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights relating to these competitions are likely to restrict competition, given their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union . This is what the Court of Justice of the European Union decided when ruling on the appeal of the European Superleague Company against Fifa and UEFA who opposed the project to create the new football competition, Super League, made up of twelve European football teams. FIFA and UEFA have threatened to impose sanctions on clubs and players who decide to participate.
In its ruling the Court notes that the organization of interclub football competitions and the exploitation of media rights are, quite evidently, economic activities. They must therefore respect competition rules and respect freedoms of movement, even if the economic pursuit of sport has some specific characteristics, such as the existence of associations that have certain regulatory and supervisory powers and the power to impose sanctions. The Court also observes that, in parallel with those powers, FIFA itself and UEFA organize football competitions. Furthermore, the Court considers that, where an undertaking in a dominant position has the power to determine the conditions under which potentially competing undertakings can access the market, this power must, taking into account the risk of conflict of interest which it gives rise to, be subject to suitable criteria to ensure that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. However, the powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to these criteria. FIFA and UEFA are therefore abusing a dominant position.
And yet, given their arbitrary nature, their rules on approval, monitoring and sanctions must be considered unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services. This does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court, having been questioned in general about the rules of FIFA and UEFA, does not comment on that specific project in its ruling. In parallel, the Court observes that FIFA and UEFA rules relating to the exploitation of media rights are such as to be harmful to European football clubs, all companies operating in media markets and, ultimately, consumers and television viewers, preventing them from enjoying new and potentially innovative or interesting competitions. However, it is up to the Commercial Court of Madrid (seat of the appeal) to ascertain whether such rules could still benefit the various stakeholders in football, for example by ensuring a joint redistribution of the profits generated by such rights.
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