Questions and answers about the Super League case, whose trial is being held this Thursday in Commercial Court number 17 in Madrid, due to the complaint by the promoters of the competition, promoted by Real Madrid and Barcelona, against UEFA and the FIFA for abuse of dominant position by preventing its implementation.
What is the Super League?
The Spanish clubs Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, the Italians Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus and the English Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham – announced on April 18, 2021 the creation of a new competition ( Super League) from the 2021-2022 season, given the instability of the economic model of European football due to the pandemic.
The format provided for up to 20 participating teams: the founders, three more guests – including PSG – and five other teams that will be classified annually based on their performance.
The provision of funds was foreseen in a letter in which JP Morgan AG committed to granting ESLC, through a bridge loan, for a maximum of almost 4 billion euros.
On December 21, the Super League was presented as a free, open competition, with 64 participants in three groups, promotions and relegations, and also with a women’s tournament, with 32 clubs, which was not initially included.
What is judged?
On April 20, 2021, the Commercial Court number 17 of Madrid accepted the lawsuit from A22 Sports Management SL and European Super League Company SL – promoters of the Super League – and adopted the precautionary measures requested to prevent UEFA, the FIFA and the national federations will take disciplinary measures during the procedure.
The lawsuit asks for a declaration that UEFA and FIFA have abused their dominant position in violation of Article 102 of the TFEU, by granting themselves the discretionary power to prohibit participation in alternative competitions despite a conflict of interest and by forcing the clubs and potentially the Super League to assign the exploitation rights of the competitions in which they participate.
Also to resolve that they are preventing free competition in the market by imposing unjustified and disproportionate restrictions on the Super League in violation of article 101 of the TFEU and to order that they cease the anti-competitive conduct described and prohibit their future repetition.
The parts
European Super League Company SL (ESL): Private law company domiciled in Spain, established at the initiative of the clubs Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.
A22 Sports Management, SL: Private law company domiciled in Spain. It is presented as a company that provides services associated with the creation and management of professional football competitions, and more particularly the Super League project.
They are advised by the firm Clifford Chance SLP, with the Belgian lawyer Jean Louis Dupont, architect of the Bosman ruling, which declared foreign quotas in clubs for EU citizens and transfer compensation illegal.
UEFA: Private Law Association based in Switzerland.
According to its Statutes (art. 49), it will be the only one competent to organize or suppress international competitions in Europe in which member federations and/or their clubs participate.
Article 51 of these states that UEFA members or the leagues or clubs affiliated to them may not play or organize matches outside their own territory without the authorization of the corresponding member federations.
LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF): The court admitted the appearance of both, considering their legitimate interest in the procedure and connection with its objective to be justified.
A report prepared by LaLiga in collaboration with KPMG on the economic damage it would cause in the national leagues indicates that Spanish clubs other than Real Madrid and Barcelona would lose up to 55% of their income if the project were to come to fruition.
The Spanish employers denounce that the Supeliga tries to deceive, that it is a closed model; that its implementation would cause domestic leagues to lose a minimum of 69% of their audiovisual income and that it would destroy this entire ecosystem that directly employs 68,000 footballers, more than 3,000 coaches and 75,000 club workers.
FIFA: Private law association based in Switzerland. According to its statutes, its objective is to “organize its own international competitions, develop provisions and regulations governing football and everything related to this sport and guarantee their application, and control all forms of football, adopting appropriate or recommended measures to avoid the violation of the Statutes.
The case is in procedural default for not appearing as a co-defendant within the deadline.
The jurisprudence:
After receiving the lawsuit, the Madrid court went to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to determine whether there was abuse of dominant position by UEFA and FIFA according to the TFEU.
The Advocate General of the CJEU, the Greek Athanasios Rantos, concluded on December 15, 2022, in a non-binding report, that the FIFA and the UEFA They did not abuse their dominant position by blocking the creation of an alternative tournament with the threat of sanctions.
A year later, on December 21, 2023, the Grand Chamber stated that the rules of UEFA and FIFA constitute an abuse of a dominant position if they are not “subject to material criteria and procedural rules that guarantee their transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature“, according to articles 101, 102 and 56 of the TFEU.
To comply with these precepts, according to the court, it is necessary that they have been made known in an accessible manner, before any application of said rules; that in order not to be discriminatory, they do not subject the organization and marketing to requirements that are different from those applicable to the competitions that UEFA organizes, or that are impossible to comply with, and that possible sanctions comply with the principle of proportionality.
Source: Gestion
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