The fight for the European Super League is still waxing strong as the three founding members of the proposed breakaway league, Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid won a lawsuit against UEFA recently.
The three clubs who have refused to bow out from the idea of introducing the European Super League to rival UEFA Champions League took UEFA’s agitation against their plan to a law court in Madrid, Spain and the court ruled in their favor.
Recall that when the news of the breakaway league broke earlier in the year, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus were able to lure nine other clubs to join them in their quest to commence the breakaway league during the 2022-2023 season.
Unfortunately for them, the nine clubs – Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid bowed out from the plan due to pressure from fans and other football stakeholders.
UEFA has never been a party to the plan from when it was just a rumor to when it materialized. Hence, it sanctioned the nine clubs for signing up for the European Super League and set up disciplinary proceedings against the other three clubs that refused to bow out.
Initially, there was a plan that the three clubs would not be registered for the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League season before a court ruling ordered that the European football governing body should maintain the status quo until the ongoing legal proceedings end.
Unfortunately for UEFA, a court in Madrid has ruled that the disciplinary proceedings against the clubs that signed up for the European Super League must be scrapped.
With this ruling, Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid would continue their legal battle to end UEFA’s “monopolistic position” in the game of football in higher courts.
As it stands, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg will assess the case between the three clubs and UEFA at a yet to be confirmed date.
A joint statement on the websites of the three clubs read: “FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid CF welcome today’s Court’s decision enforcing, with immediate effect, UEFA’s obligation to unwind the actions taken against all European Super League founding clubs, including terminating the disciplinary proceedings against the undersigning three clubs and removing the penalties and restrictions imposed on the remaining nine founding clubs for them to avoid UEFA’s disciplinary action.
“The Court backs the request made by the promoters of the European Super League, dismisses UEFA’s appeal, and confirms its warning to UEFA that failure to comply with its ruling shall result in fines and potential criminal liability.
“The case will be assessed by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which shall review UEFA’s monopolistic position over European football.
“We must address the very serious issues facing football: UEFA has established itself as the sole regulator, exclusive operator, and unique owner of rights of European football competitions.
“This monopolistic position, in conflict of interest, is damaging football and its competitive balance. As shown by ample evidence, financial controls are inadequate, and they have been improperly enforced. Clubs participating in European competitions have the right to govern their own competitions.
“We are pleased that going forward we will no longer be subject to ongoing UEFA’s threats. We aim to keep developing the Super League project constructively and cooperatively, always counting on all football stakeholders: fans, players, coaches, clubs, leagues, and national and international associations.
“We are aware that there are elements of our proposal that should be reviewed and, of course, can be improved through dialogue and consensus. We remain confident in the success of a project that will be always compliant with European Union laws.”
Official Announcement: Super League#RealMadrid
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) July 30, 2021
