European Super League: Madrid court bans UEFA, FIFA from moves against breakaway league

Madrid: A court in Madrid on Tuesday banned UEFA and FIFA from taking any moves to block plans for a controversial private Super League that has sparked a battle within European football. In its ruling, a copy of which was seen by AFP, the court ordered both bodies to refrain from any action or statement that would block the creation of the European Super League (ESL) as well as any disciplinary measures or match bans against the clubs, players or officials involved. The ruling by a commercial court in the Spanish capital came a day after 12 of European football’s most powerful clubs said they were planning to join a breakaway league, plunging the world’s most popular sport into an unprecedented crisis. The announcement prompted a furious backlash from fans and football’s ruling bodies alike, triggering threats of legal action and possible bans for players over what many denounced as an unprecedented betrayal. In its ruling, the court expressly banned UEFA and FIFA from taking “any measure or action or statement or announcement that directly or indirectly impedes the implementation of the European Super League”. It also ordered that they refrain from “preparing, inciting or adopting” any disciplinary measures against clubs, players or officials involved in the breakaway league, extending the ban to all their associate members, clubs and domestic leagues. And it banned them from “excluding clubs and/or players participating in the preparation of the European Football Super League from any international or national competitions”.