What Spain court's verdict on European Super League means for the project

A Spanish judge ordered football’s global and European governing body - FIFA and UEFA - to halt their opposition of the European Super League on Monday. The verdict is similar to the earlier one by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which ordered the two governing bodies "to halt anti-competitive behaviour".

The judge in Madrid ruled FIFA and UEFA were indulging in anti-competitive behaviour and abusing their dominant position.

Judge Sofia Gil Garcia said in the decision that the governing bodies violated European Union law by banning football clubs from participating in the proposed new professional football championship.

In the ruling, Gil Garcia also ordered FIFA and UEFA to immediately reverse any anti-competitive actions that they had taken in the past.

“It is not possible to impose a prohibition or restriction as a matter of principle, in other words to prohibit any other project in the future,” explained the judge in her ruling.

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“To admit the contrary would be tantamount to accepting a kind of ban … on any football competition project” that competes with the current Champions League, continued the judge.

The scope of the Spanish court’s decision is uncertain, however, as it tackles regulations that have been completely rewritten in the interim period.

What has been said after the ruling?

The case was filed by A22 Sports Management, the sports development company behind the plan to create the ESL, who have refined the project into a three-tier 8-club project. It was filed against Spain’s football federation (RFEF), Spanish league (La Liga), UEFA and FIFA, who had all blocked the ESL.

“The era of the monopoly is now definitively over,” A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said in a statement after the ruling, calling it “an important step towards a truly competitive and sustainable club football landscape in Europe”.

Reichart added that UEFA had stifled innovation for decades and clubs “should not have to fear threats of sanctions simply for having ideas and conversations”.

UEFA, meanwhile, said: “The judgment does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorisation and does not concern any future project or indeed any modified version of an existing project.”

What is the proposed European Super League?

The proposal in 2021 of a breakaway league by Europe’s 12 biggest clubs sparked widespread protests among fans and leagues. It also invited threats of sanctions by UEFA. It led to nine of them - Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid - pulling out with only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remaining standing.

The European Super League project was relaunched this winter after the ECJ ruled that the powers of these two bodies were not “governed by any criteria ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate”.

UEFA has since corrected this ‘shortcoming’ with new, much more detailed regulations adopted in June 2022.

“This ruling does not mean that the so-called ‘Super League’ has been approved or validated,” said UEFA in response to the ECJ ruling.

“The judgement is not final, nor does it bring anything new of significance,” said La Liga chief Javier Tebas, firmly opposed to the Super League project.