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The European Super League verdict is due this morning in a legal battle against European football governing body Uefa, which could be “bigger than Bosman”. In a landmark case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the football world is braced for a decision that could have huge repercussions.
After almost 1,000 days since the case was filed in May 2021, the hearing will decide whether Real Madrid and Barcelona can relaunch the ESL and if Uefa, and Fifa, do indeed hold a monopoly on the sport and if that contravenes EU law. The rapid backtracking from many of the 12 founding clubs from those initial plans released in April 2021 came after the furious backlash from fans, yet Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, until this summer, held firm.
Here’s everything you need to know about the ESL verdict and follow the latest updates and news from Luxembourg below:
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European Super League vs Uefa verdict
The thinking behind the new-look European Super League proposal was explained when it was launched
European Super League vs Uefa verdict
Why is the Super League back now?
After its defeat in 2021, the European Super League returned with a new format, crucially removing the “closed shop” format that would have seen its founding members be immune from relegation.
The latest proposal has been tweaked and could contain up to 80 teams in a multi-divisional format. The Super League would also be based on sporting performance only with no permanent members.
A22 have consulted with nearly 50 European clubs since October last year and developed 10 principles based on that consultation which underpin its plans for a new-look league. The people involved with the European Super League believe football across the continent is in danger and they are the self-appointed guardians to save it.
A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart said the new-look Super League would be an open competition, with qualification achieved via performance at national level and with all its teams competing in their domestic leagues. Those national leagues would remain “the foundation” of the game, Reichart said, and argued that the new Super League would generate new revenues to support the entire pyramid. There is a guarantee of a minimum of 14 matches that would provide “stability and predictability” of revenue.
European Super League vs Uefa verdict
What happened to the European Super League in 2021?
It was a rare triumph of fan power when the European Super League first tried to launch back in April 2021 as immediate, sustained protests from across the football community caused the clubs involved to scuttle away with their tail between their legs.
The competition was initially launched with 12 founding members – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid – who would permanently take part in the competition.
The plan quickly collapsed after the six Premier League clubs pulled out within 24 hours in the face of fierce criticism from supporters, pundits, clubs and the media, but Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid remained committed to the concept.
European Super League vs Uefa verdict
What is being decided today?
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice will decide whether Uefa and Fifa acted against competition law by blocking the formation of the European Super League in 2021 and sanctioning the clubs involved.
A22, the company backing the European Super League, believe Uefa and Fifa are abusing a dominant position by acting as governing body, regulator, commercial operator and gatekeeper, while also having significant sanctioning powers.
They argue Uefa and Fifa should not be able to run a “monopoly” over football and want to have the right to launch new competitions without facing punishment under a free market.
A non-binding decision delivered by the Advocate General in the case last December found rules allowing Uefa to have prior approval of new competitions were compatible with EU law – now the European Court of Justice will now consider its own interpretation of the EU’s competition law and will deliver its verdict on whether Uefa acted lawfully.
European Super League vs Uefa verdict
It’s “judgement day” in the European Super League case, as a decision that could shape the future of football is set to be delivered on Thursday.
First launched in 2021, the European Super League proposed a breakaway competition involving some of Europe’s biggest teams in a “closed shop” format.
But the controversial plans were met with fierce opposition from fans and the football’s governing bodies, leading to its stunning collapse within days of being launched.
But like a monster from a horror movie, the European Super League wasn’t actually killed off, and now those backing the competition have taken Uefa and Fifa to court as they seek to relaunch their competition.
Now, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice is set to deliver a verdict on the case, in what is a huge moment for the sport. Here’s everything you need to know.
European Super League verdict: Everything you need to know about ‘judgement day’
A verdict on a landmark case that could shape the future of football is set to be delivered today
European Court of Justice decision ‘bigger than Bosman’ and could change the face of football
“If it seems strange that there is still so much talk of the European Super League given what happened in April 2021, there are many involved in the case now that are making even grander statements about it all.
“They believe that Thursday is “bigger than Bosman”. That will be the day the entire episode either comes to a conclusion or a new start. The European Court of Justice [ECJ] will rule on whether bodies like Uefa and Fifa represent monopolies that must be broken up, or if that structure is necessary for the running of football. It all stems from the case the Super League planners took around the time of its launch.
“Put in simple terms, this will decide whether they can get the project properly going again, and change the face of European football.
“Thursday will also see two connected cases decided, making it a potentially landmark day in sport legislation. Those very words might sound dismally dry but the outcome will determine what the football we watch will actually look like. We will know whether the Champions League can be the same; whether the sport as a whole will stay a unified pyramid or potentially disperse into the same sort of chaos as boxing.”
Preview by Miguel Delaney
‘Bigger than Bosman’: Why European Court ruling could change the face of football
The European Court of Justice stands to rule on whether Uefa and Fifa are monopolies to be broken up in a landmark case which will have repercussions across the game
ECJ set to deliver verdict in European Super League case
The Grand Chamber judgement’s interpretation of EU law will be passed back to a Madrid commercial court to make a decision, after the Spanish jurisdiction made the referral in 2021.
That court also placed an injunction on sanctions UEFA imposed on the nine clubs who joined Super League but who later withdrew. It remains to be seen whether UEFA will press on with those sanctions, and potentially investigate more serious charges against Real and Barcelona.
ECJ set to deliver verdict in European Super League case
That is all before considering another crucial element – the fans.
Supporters in England took to the streets despite coronavirus restrictions when the initial Super League plans became known, and played a key part in its collapse.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund fans have also expressed strong opposition in the past.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, a member of Bayern’s supervisory board and a former ECA chairman, issued some scathing comments about Super League in an interview with Italian news outlet Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday.
Asked what would happen if the ECJ authorised the Super League in its entirety, Rummenigge said: “It wouldn’t go far. Thirty years ago the system would have embraced novelty, now it is different.
“The English, Germans and French would never participate. I also believe the Italians and the Spanish (would not), unless there is some president who thinks of going to bed and waking up the next day covered by gold.”
ECJ set to deliver verdict in European Super League case
In England, the Premier League has just announced a new domestic television rights deal worth £6.7billion. If there is any risk that the competition A22 proposes that could kill or even harm that golden goose, it is difficult to picture any English club supporting it.
Clubs are also set to be forbidden from joining unapproved competitions as a licensing condition to be set by the English game’s new independent regulator, while the Premier League’s Owners’ Charter agreed in 2022 also contains undertakings not to “engage in the creation of new competition formats outside of the Premier League’s rules”.
In France, it has been reported that an investment into the domestic game from CVC contains a compensation clause should a French club participate in any Super League, while German club ownership structures provide a major obstacle.
ECJ set to deliver verdict in European Super League case
There are many obstacles in A22’s path even if the judgement suggests it does have the right to pitch a new competition to Uefa that can operate under Uefa’s auspices, and for Uefa to give that competition full and fair consideration.
Crucially, is there a will from any club outside of original architects Real Madrid and Barcelona to be involved?
In September, the European Club Association, which features 500 clubs either as members or within its network, signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding with Uefa which runs until July 2030.
Within the MoU is an undertaking that the ECA “ensure that none of its member clubs participate in any competition that is not organised or recognised by Uefa or Fifa”.
A22’s claim that Uefa is the dominant commercial operator is at least challenged by the existence of the Joint Venture between Uefa and ECA which oversees all marketing and commercial matters related to the Champions League and Uefa’s other club competitions. Each organisation has seven members on the JV’s board.
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